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

To: ghengis2 who wrote (5022)	4/28/2000 3:17:00 AM
From: Edwin S. Fujinaka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6020

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.