Re: Microsoft and AT&T- Cable Powerhouse in Japan?
Thread- Interesting news today from the WSJ. Apparently a major investment by MSFT in Titus (http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=13395952) is going to merge with a major investment by AT&T in Jupiter. Combine the two, and imagine how much access to capital these two have to compete with the biggest monopoly of all, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph(NTT)! Sounds like a godzilla like spending battle may be happening soon in Japan.
I can't recall precisely who the equipment providers are going to be. I'm pretty certain Harmonic(sym:HLIT) plays a role already. Something to do with Sumitomo. But I can't recall exactly what.
If this merger happens, and the Japanese government doesn't do anything stupid, this should be very good for the Japanese consumer and infrastructure equipment companies. -MikeM(From Florida)
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Japan's 2 Largest Cable Firms Discuss Merger, In Possible Boon To Microsoft
April 14, 2000 TOKYO -- Japan's two largest cable companies have entered merger talks that if completed would advance a recent push by Microsoft Corp. into high-speed data networks in Japan.
Shareholders of Japan's largest cable operator, Jupiter Telecommunications Co., and Titus Communications Corp. are close to a final merger agreement, a person familiar with the negotiations told Friday's Wall Street Journal. Jupiter is owned by AT&T Corp. and Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp., which confirmed that merger talks are under way.
Sumitomo and AT&T Corp unit Liberty Media Corp. -- Jupiter's two shareholders -- and Microsoft Corp, Itochu Corp. and Toshiba Corp. -- Titus's three shareholders -- are participating in the talks, a Sumitomo spokesman said.
Friday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Jupiter and Titus, Japan's second-largest cable-television operator, will merge in July and that the merged unit will have capital of 75 billion yen ($707 million). The newspaper said Sumitomo and Liberty will be the top shareholders, taking equal stakes. The Jupiter-Titus merger, if completed, would boost Microsoft's recent investments into so-called broadband networks in Japan.
The merged unit would combine 28 cable TV stations serving 660,000 subscribers, the newspaper said. Utilizing high-speed, large-volume networks linked to households, it would offer broadcasting, Internet and telephone services on a nationwide scale.
Earlier this week, Microsoft bought a 60% stake in Titus, a company in which Toshiba Corp. and Itochu Corp. each hold 20%.
Microsoft has made several other broadband investments in the U.S. and overseas, including a $5 billion investment in AT&T last year. Microsoft, which had $17.8 billion in cash as of Dec. 31, has been accused by rivals of unfairly using profits it earned from business practices recently deemed anticompetitive and illegal by a federal judge.
In addition to its Titus stake, Microsoft last year teamed with Softbank Corp. and an electric company to bring high-speed wireless access to Japanese homes. Microsoft and Softbank are also partners in a joint venture with Global Crossing Ltd. to lay undersea optical fiber cable throughout Asia.
The move by Jupiter and Titus is part of a trend in which cable-TV operators are considering tying up or merging to gain financial strength.
Microsoft bought a 60% stake in Titus from U.S. cable-TV company MediaOne Group Inc. Englewood, Colo.-based MediaOne (UMG) is being acquired by AT&T Corp. and shedding international assets. |
