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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JMD who wrote (10614)	5/12/2001 2:33:39 AM
From: JGoren	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197271

Buyers interested in KDDI wireless unit By Reuters staff 11 May 2001 Debt-ridden KDDI Corp, Japan's number two telecom firm, said on Friday a number of companies had expressed interest in buying its wireless unit, Tuka. "We have been approached by several firms," a KDDI spokesman said without elaborating. The Japan Industrial Journal said in its Friday's edition that eight companies including Britain's Virgin Group had shown interest in buying Tuka, which uses a Japan-specific standard network known as PDA. While the companies are all major carriers, Britain's Vodafone Group Plc and U.S. telecom titan AT&T Wireless are not among them, it said. The Journal quoted Jiro Ushio, KDDI board chairman, as saying the company would begin negotiations soon with six potential buyers. Ushio also indicated that the selling price would exceed 50 billion yen ($408.5 million), it said. Tuka, which consists of three regional operators in which KDDI holds stakes of more than 50 percent, has four million subscribers. But analysts have raised doubts about the firm's future, saying it could soon be left in the dust by another KDDI-operated cell phone service, au, which uses a system known as cdmaOne, developed and commercialised by U.S. firm Qualcomm Inc. With plans afoot to roll out 3G, or third-generation, services by updating cdmaOne networks, Tuka could find itself out of the race, they said. Andrew Craissati, chairman and CEO of Virgin Asia Management, said Virgin was hoping to enter the Japanese telecom market within a year. "We believe there is a strong opportunity to take a fresh and innovative approach to bringing simplicity and less confusion to the Japanese consumer," Craissati said. He added that Virgin was talking to several telephone companies but declined to give details. Shares in KDDI rose 2.1 percent to close at 536,000 yen, while the benchmark Nikkei rose 0.19 percent. totaltele.com