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To: Mark Fowler who wrote (136274)	12/31/2001 12:00:37 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164685

bayarea.com >>SUNNYVALE, Calif. (Reuters) - Corporate financial software company Ariba Inc. (ARBA.O) on Monday said the chief executive of Japanese Internet investor Softbank Corp. (9984.T) resigned from Ariba's board of directors effective Monday. The Sunnyvale, California-based Ariba said despite the resignation of Masayoshi Son, Softbank would continue to have an ownership stake in Ariba Japan. ``I really don't see it as an issue,'' First Analysis analyst Steve Bowen said. ``Son is tightening his focus on his own company and its portfolio. I've been expecting this.'' Ariba's stock, which has lost 89 percent of its value this year, has been climbing as the once-hot business-to-business software maker, reorients itself toward profitability. ``A lot of things are falling in place,'' Bowen said. Shares of Ariba hit a low of $1.42 on Sept. 27, but traded at $6.19, up 7 cents, in early morning activity on the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, Softbank, which has rapidly built an Internet empire by investing in startups and cashing in when they go public, has been hard hit by the prolonged high-tech slump and sluggish market for initial public offerings. On Nov. 20, Softbank posted a group net loss of 54.3 billion yen, or $441.2 million for the first half of the year and gave no forecasts for the full year through March 2002. However, Son, who also founded Softbank, said the company could return to the black in the second half of the year, given the recent improved tone in the global stock markets. Softbank has investments in more than 600 Internet firms. Last week, Softbank said it would sell a 3 percent stake in Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO.O). to SBC Communications Inc. (SBC.N). It said it expects to cut its group interest-bearing debts by 100 billion yen through the deal as well as other sales of its share holdings.