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To: santhosh mohan who wrote (3149)	11/23/1997 5:25:00 PM
From: Rational	Respond to of 27307

Santosh: This latest I found for Softbank indicates this company is heading for trouble. Sankar Softbank unveils overhaul as stock stumbles By Yuko Inoue TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Softbank Corp, reeling from a plunge in its stock price, said Monday it would merge two U.S. subsidiaries: Ziff-Davis Inc., the world's leading computer magazine publisher, and Softbank Comdex Inc., sponsor of the world's largest computer trade shows. Softbank founder Masayoshi Son said Ziff-Davis, Softbank Comdex and a third wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Softbank Forums Inc., would be merged in 1998-99 in order to manage them more effectively. ''The merger would make it possible to offer comprehensive services to clients while strengthening the company's business base in the United States,'' he said. Son said Softbank, Japan's largest computer software distributor, generated ''sufficient'' profits in the April-to-September period despite weakness in the personal computer market, denying market speculation that the company is suffering from a cash flow problem. Analysts say worries about Softbank's profitability and its complicated management structure -- particularly the functions of MAC Inc., an asset management company owned by Son -- have kept the company's stock on a downward spiral since the start of the year. Softbank stock fell 390 yen ($3.15) to a record low of 2,930 yen ($23.63) on Monday, down sharply from the year's high of 8,450 yen ($68.15) in January. ''We have abundant cash flow,'' Son told a news conference. ''We have raised sufficient profits as a result of heathy management.'' Softbank has become one of the most closely watched companies in Japan due to its rapid expansion. In addition to its core computer software business, it is also a partner with Rupert Murdoch in a satellite television service in Japan and is a major Internet service provider. It has aggressively acquired companies abroad, especially in the United States. Softbank also announced Monday that Ziff-Davis had purchased about $100 million worth of assets from MAC on Oct. 31 as part of MAC's restructuring. MAC, which is outside the Softbank group, took over Ziff-Davis's money-losing divisions. It also manages currency risk to help protect Softbank from possible foreign-exchange losses when it acquires foreign companies. Son said MAC's restructuring will be completed in the 1998-99 fiscal year, with Softbank taking over all of MAC's operations. Son, however, said the company has cut its sales forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1998, by 40 billion yen ($322 million) to 510 billion yen ($4.11 billion). A decline in the price of computer memory chips cut U.S. unit Kingston Technology's sales forecast by 20 billion yen ($161 million), while sales at the parent company would be about 20 billion yen ($161 million) lower than the original estimate, he said. Softbank's net profit forecast for the year was left unchanged at 9.5 billion yen ($76.6 million), although Son said this included a gain of 3.5 billion yen ($28.2 million) from a change in accounting methods at the parent company. For the half year to September, Softbank reported a group net profit of 2.36 billion yen ($19 million). Softbank has spent more than $4.5 billion in the past two years investing in more than 30 computer companies, mostly in the United States. It paid $1.4 billion for 80 percent of computer motherboard maker Kingston Technology, $2.1 billion to acquire Ziff-Davis and $800 million to buy Comdex. ^REUTERS@ Reut09:37 11-10-97 (10 Nov 1997 09:30 EST)

To: santhosh mohan who wrote (3149)	11/23/1997 5:29:00 PM
From: Rational	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27307

Santosh: Softbank price has plummetted to its lowest, below the IPO price. Sankar Data for Seven Recent Business Days Date; Opening High Low Closing Volume Price Price 1997/11/13 2,950 2,950 2,810 2,860 78.1 1997/11/14 2,860 2,960 2,860 2,920 40.1 1997/11/17 2,920 3,090 2,920 3,090 55.4 1997/11/18 3,100 3,200 3,020 3,040 65.6 1997/11/19 2,950 2,950 2,750 2,750 84.2 1997/11/20 2,760 2,850 2,750 2,800 61.1 1997/11/21 2,880 2,900 2,810 2,830 43.3