Yahoo acquired eAccess, a mobile network operator under SoftBank

Tencent Technology News May 20, in part by the reorganization of Softbank assets, Japan's largest portals Yahoo Japan announced on Monday that it will give up spending 324 billion yen (about 3.2 billion US dollars) the acquisition of Softbank's mobile network operator eAccess The deal.

Softbank is currently Yahoo's largest shareholder in Japan, holding 42.6% of the latter's shares. The two companies jointly announced on Monday that they will work on a plan that will allow Yahoo Japan to launch low-cost mobile Internet services using eAccess's network. SoftBank also announced Monday that eAccess will continue to be merged with wireless service provider Willcom as planned on June 1, the same as a division of SoftBank.

Softbank originally planned to raise more money to pursue its ambitious overseas M & A strategy by selling eAccess. Softbank is considering allowing Sprint to acquire T-Mobile America, the nation's fourth-largest mobile operator, after spending heavily on the controlling stake in Sprint, the third-largest US mobile operator, in March last year.

Since its announcement on March 27 this year that it will sell eAccess to Yahoo! Japan, Softbank has issued bonds valued at 300 billion yen to retail investors. In addition, as the largest shareholder of the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, the upcoming IPO will also make Softbank make a profit, which highlights the financial flexibility of Softbank in carrying out large-scale M & A transactions.

After announcing the sale of eAccess to Yahoo! Japan, the two companies subsequently decided that Yahoo! Japan will provide services through eAccess's network, but the latter will remain independent. Yahoo Japan president Manabu Miyasaka has previously said that Yahoo Japan needs to control its own cell phones and networks to meet the target of adding 10 million mobile subscribers. However, market analysts questioned the need for an Internet company to take over wireless network operations. Since Yahoo! Japan announced the acquisition of eAccess, the company's share price has fallen 25%, which is a performance weaker than the 4% decline of the Nikkei 225 index.

As the third largest mobile operator in Japan, SoftBank determined to become the world's leading mobile Internet company Softbank, while holding 99.68% stake in eAccess, but subject to regulatory restrictions, only 33.29% of the latter have the right to vote. However, Softbank still maintains effective operational control over eAccess as the remaining shareholding in eAccess is held separately by several shareholders. (Ming Hin)