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Technology Stocks : Softbank Group Corp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ms.smartest.person who wrote (3917)	2/15/2000 3:25:00 AM
From: Edwin S. Fujinaka	Respond to of 6020

Tokyo close at $1686 US. (That's actually up 15,000 yen, but not quite up to the earlier close in the US at $1700). Anyway, more on the Bank takeover: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 FRC Set To Pick Softbank-Led Group To Take Over NCB TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Financial Reconstruction Commission has decided to have a consortium of Softbank Corp. (9984), Orix Corp. (8591), and Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. (8751) take over the temporarily nationalized Nippon Credit Bank, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Monday. A formal decision is due as early as this month. NCB has been under state control for 14 months and the FRC wants to complete a contract for the handover by the end of March. The consortium won as a result of a long-term business plan that calls for a reborn NCB to provide financing to start-up firms, sources said. Under the deal, the consortium will pay 1-10 billion yen to the Deposit Insurance Corp. to acquire all the common shares of NCB. The group will also pump about 100 billion yen into the bank, while the government will provide an infusion of more than 200 billion yen in public funds through a purchase of preferred stock in NCB. In exchange for government support, the Softbank-led group will have NCB continue to provide financing to the bank's ailing borrowers. NCB had 3.19 trillion yen of liabilities in excess of assets as of Sept. 30. Unrealized gains on securities holdings are estimated to trim the public cost of disposing of the bank to just under 3.1 trillion yen. The public is expected to have to cough up an additional 80-90 billion yen during the handover of NCB. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition) Tuesday, February 15, 2000 New NCB To Focus On Venture Capital Business TOKYO (Nikkei)--Nippon Credit Bank, now under state control, will likely emerge as an institution specializing in providing funds to start-up companies after a consortium headed by Softbank Corp. (9984) acquires it, sources familiar with the matter said Monday. After taking over the bank, two of the three consortium members, Softbank and Orix Corp. (8591), will help it evaluate the prospects of start-up firms, mainly in high-tech fields. Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. (8751) will use its influence in the nation's financial industry to bring stability and high credit standing to the new bank. The consortium plans to infuse 100 billion yen into NCB and boost its capital ratio to 12-13%. The new NCB aims to achieve an annual net business profit of 40-50 billion yen. The new NCB's asset scale, however, is expected to fall far short of the current 5 trillion yen, becoming close to that of a major regional bank. Shareholders' equity would be 500-600 billion yen. Under the group's blueprint submitted to the Financial Reconstruction Commission, Softbank will contribute nearly 50 billion yen, while Orix and financial institutions closely tied to it will provide 20 billion yen. Tokio Marine will pour in about 15 billion yen, with the rest coming from regional banks or possibly two former candidates to take over NCB -- French bank Paribas and the U.S. investment bank, Lehman Brothers Inc. The consortium's plan calls for a reborn NCB to focus on three areas: supplying funds to start-up companies; offering cutting-edge financial know-how to regional financial institutions it forms alliances with; and providing investment banking services in support of existing clients that are restructuring. U.S.-based Cerberus Capital Management LLC had been the other contender in the race to gain control of the bank, but the FRC apparently favored the consortium's long-term business plan, which looks ahead by tackling areas such as information technology. The FRC will, however, continue to press for a deal that minimizes the public burden of cleaning up NCB, sources say. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition)