It appears to me that Kitao is vital to Softbank and any sign of his leaving would be a serious negative. Son needs him as part of the "good cop, bad cop" strategy and I predict that most of the real money is going to be generated under Kitao's control.
Perhaps some old news on the Nippon Credit Bank culled from the Nikkei Net:
Monday, June 5, 2000
Cerberus Withdraws From Race For Nippon Credit Bank
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--U.S.-based Cerberus Partners L.P. said Monday it will withdraw its name as a potential bidder for Japan's temporary nationalized Nippon Credit Bank.
"Cerberus Partners wishes to announce that it is withdrawing its name as a potential bidder for Nippon Credit Bank," the U.S. company said, adding that it is "making no further comment on its actions at this time." The U.S.-based corporate restructuring fund had shown an interest in purchasing NCB after a consortium led by Softbank Corp. (J.SFT or 9984) failed to conclude its NCB takeover deal with the government by the May 31 deadline.
However, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Saturday that the government and Softbank have reached an agreement on the NCB takeover, with the group making deep concessions.
A spokeswoman at Softbank said earlier Monday that there had been no "official" agreement yet with the government.
Saturday, June 3, 2000
NCB Increases Reserves By 14 Bln Yen From Last Sept
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Nippon Credit Bank increased its loan loss reserves by some 14 billion yen to 479 billion yen between September 1999 and the end of fiscal year in March, bank sources said Friday.
The failed bank, now under state control, increased provisions to cover possible loan losses at clients that suffered a slump in their business performance.
The amount of reserves has proved a stumbling block in takeover negotiations with a consortium led by Softbank Corp. (9984).
The Softbank alliance demanded reserves be increased by more than 100 billion yen during talks with the Financial Reconstruction Commission. Although the FRC plans to continue negotiating with the consortium, it is reluctant to give in to the demand, sources close to the negotiations said.
(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Saturday morning edition)
Saturday, June 3, 2000
Softbank Alliance, FRC Clinch Deal On NCB Takeover
TOKYO (Nikkei)--A consortium led by Softbank Corp. (9984) has reached an agreement with the Financial Reconstruction Commission to take over the nationalized Nippon Credit Bank (NCB), sources close to the matter said Saturday.
The deal came just a few days after the consortium comprising Softbank, Orix Corp. (8591) and Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. (8751) lost priority negotiation rights after failing to agree with the FRC on a number of issues.
The consortium made major concessions on its demands that a large amount of public funds be used to help it cover loan-loss reserves at NCB. For its part, the FRC was seeking to relieve the taxpayer of the burden of operating the bank as quickly as possible, the sources said.
A final agreement will be signed next week.
Shoji Mori, secretary general of the FRC, and Softbank President Masayoshi Son continued intermittent talks after the consortium lost the priority negotiation rights on Thursday.
The two sides agreed, among others, that the consortium will drop its request that the government boost loan-loss reserves at the bank by at least 100 billion yen. They also agreed that guidelines on nonfinancial firms entering the banking sector, released Tuesday, will be applied to the consortium.
A deal was also reached to reappraise NCB's assets to reflect deteriorating business circumstances since April at companies doing business with the bank, the sources said.
(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Saturday evening edition) |
