John, who has the JapanTV decoder busisness?
News Corp. Sells Japan TV Shares For JSkyB Support
TOKYO (Reuter) - Australian media giant News Corp. and Japan's Softbank Corp., which shocked Japan last year by quietly taking a stake in a national TV network, said Monday they were selling their stake to one of the network's Japanese parents.
But they said that in return they had secured the cooperation of a major Japanese media conglomerate for their Japan Sky Broadcasting Co., or JSkyB, a digital satellite TV project with Sony Corp. which will start beaming digital channels in Japan in April.
News Corp. and Softbank, Japan's biggest software distributor, said that they decided to sell their shares in Asahi National Broadcasting Co. (TV Asahi) because of strong requests from other shareholders, most notably the mass-circulation daily Asahi Shimbun, the biggest shareholder.
"We decided to respond to the strong request from the Asahi Shimbun because in return, we were given assurance that we will get further support (from Asahi) for the launch of JSkyB," Softbank President Masayoshi Son told a news conference.
The sale to Asahi Shimbun of 5,136 shares will be made at 41.75 billion yen ($345 million), the same amount paid by News Corp. and Softbank in June 1996.
The acquisition last year of TV Asahi stakes came as a surprise to TV Asahi shareholders as Softbank had quietly arranged the purchase through another Japanese company called Obunsha Media.
"News Corp. has had friendly relationships with Asahi Shimbun going back to some years ago," said News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who made a surprise, unannounced appearance at the Tokyo news conference.
"(Today's agreement) will become a new chapter in our relationship. We wish to work together for our mutual benefit," Murdoch added. |
