This was posted later at Bloomberg:
quote.bloomberg.com
Hikari Tsushin Shares Surge on Takeover Speculation (Update1)
By Minoru Matsutani, Tak Kumakura and Junko Fujita
Tokyo, April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Hikari Tsushin Inc. shares
rose for the first time in almost a month on speculation the
cellular phone subscription agency and Internet investor is the
target of a takeover attempt.
Hikari Tsushin shares rose as much as 2,000 yen, or 14.5
percent, to 15,800, before closing at 15,600, on trading of more
than 3 million shares, 14 times the stock's six-month average of
213,338. The rise arrested a 20-day slide in the shares.
The company said there had been false speculation among
traders today that Kyocera Corp., a Japanese mobile phone maker,
will make a bid for Hikari Tsushin.
Midori Kaito, a spokeswoman for Hikari Tsushin, called the
speculation ``totally groundless.'' The companies are not in
talks, she said. Kyocera Spokesman Masaaki Ito also said the
companies have no takeover plans.
Hikari Tsushin shares have been declining since March 30,
when the company projected a loss, and have sank 93 percent since
January, closing yesterday at 13,800 yen amid skepticism about the
company's business model, which relies heavily on commission from
mobile phone subscription sales.
The company earlier this week reported an operating loss of
12.9 billion yen in the six months ended February, and predicted a
full year loss of 11.6 billion yen, compared with its March 30
forecast of an 8 billion yen profit.
The company attributed the revision to a slowdown in the
growth of new mobile phone contracts. Sales for the year through
August are now forecast at 330 billion yen, 13 percent lower than
the previous estimate.
The stock plunge and a forecast for the loss has forced
President Yasumitsu Shigeta step down as a board member of
Softbank Corp., Japan's largest Internet investor, which some
analysts say Hikari Tsushin is modeled after. |
