Internet
ò Industry sources said Rakuten Inc. is considering to end holding its Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. shares in trust, a move that is seen as reviving the voting rights of the company. The sources also indicated that Rakuten is expected to maintain its alliance negotiation with TBS, which is significant because at the end of February Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. cannot hold the entrusted TBS shares for one month beyond that date. Under the Banking Law, a financial institution may not own more than a 5 percent share in a company for more than one year. In October 2005, Rakuten acquired TBS shares and proposed management integration. The company, facing opposition from TBS, entered alliance talks the following month, retracting the integration proposal. Negotiations have been stalled for more than a year. Rakuten has three options for the entrusted TBS shares: holding the shares on its own, concluding a new trust contract with another financial institution or selling the shares. According to a Rakuten official, it was not easy finding a trust bank willing to take over the shares, perhaps because bankers are wary of getting involved in a corporate battle even as some company officials believe Rakuten should give up alliance talks and sell its TBS shares. Analysts see the emergence of a large TBS shareholder, which may impact future alliance talks.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò USJ Co., the operator of amusement park Universal Studios Japan, said it has received approval to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market on March 16. The company will offer 577,143 shares to the public in its IPO. Of those, 230,000 are newly issued shares and 347,143 are shares currently held in private. USJ is a 50.9 percent owned by Crane Holdings Ltd, a Japanese subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. USJ's current outstanding shares total 1.9 million shares. The company will conduct a book building for the IPO shares from Feb. 27 to March 2. Nomura Securities is the lead underwriter of the offer, also has a green shoe option allowing it to offer an additional 50,000 shares in the event of exceptional demand. The company said it expects to net 9.4 billion yen (US$78.7 million) from the IPO. Of the IPO proceeds, it plans to use 2.5 billion yen (US$21 million) to set up new facilities for the amusement park and the remaining for repayment for debt. For the current fiscal year through March, the company forecasts a parent pretax profit of 2.4 billion yen (US$20.1 million), net profit of 1 billion yen (US$8.3 million), and revenue of 69.3 billion yen (US$526.7 million). Last fiscal year, the company posted a parent pretax loss of 582 million yen (US$4.8 million), net loss of 4.6 billion yen (US$38.5 million), and revenue of 68.2 billion yen (US$721 million).
Mobile/Wireless
ò NEC Electronics Corp of Japan and Telegent Systems Inc of the U.S. are showing a Mobile TV over-the-air technology demonstration at 3GSM in Barcelona, Spain. NEC Electronics' application processor and Telegent Systems' TV-on-a-Chip together enable simultaneous, high-definition multimedia capabilities that today's mobile power users require. The companies claim that the demonstration will show better video reception, higher-performance video processing, and lower power consumption on the cell phone platform, making Mobile TV a reality today. Telegent Systems' solutions are based on the company's SureTrak technology, which integrates all major Mobile TV receiver functionalities, from antenna input to digital video output. The SureTrak technology allows up to 4.5 hours of viewing time on cell phones.
ò Toshiba announced the unveiling its first two mobile phones running on Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, with the company disclosing that it wants to be the No. 2 vendor in that business phone segment. Microsoft Windows Mobile is currently in approximately 20 percent of all smartphones sold, which amounts to around 3 million phones per quarter The Portege G500 is the world's first Windows Mobile device which slides open and will be available in the second quarter at around 450 euros (US$584.6) before local taxes and operator subsidies. The 3G phone, which can download data at 3.7 megabits per second over the mobile network or via local Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless networks, has fingerprint recognition security built in and the software on the phone and can all be controlled from a Toshiba Portege laptop computer.
Software
ò FreeBit Co., a network-related skills provider, said it has received approval to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market in March. The company will offer 2,000 shares to the public in its IPO, with 1,700 being newly issued shares and 300 shares currently held in private. The company will conduct a book building for the IPO shares from March 1 to March 7. The company expects to net 514.6 million yen (US$4.3 million) from the IPO. Of the IPO proceeds, it plans to use 225 million yen (US$1.8 million) for software development, 160.2 million yen (US$1.3 million) for repayment and the remaining 129.4 million yen (US$1 million) for refund of a corporate bond. For the current fiscal year through April 30, the company forecasts a parent pretax profit of 232 million yen (US$2 million) and a net profit of 220 million yen (US$1.8 million). Last fiscal year, the company posted a net profit of 88 million yen (US$737,000) and revenue of 3.7 billion yen (US$31 million).
ò Nextgen Inc., a software developer, announced that it has secured approval to list on the Osaka Securities Exchange's Hercules market in March. The company will offer 4,200 shares to the public in its IPO. Of those, 3,000 are newly issued shares and 1,200 are shares currently held in private. The company will conduct a book building for the IPO shares from Feb. 27 to March 2. The company expects to net 454 million yen (US$3.8 million) from the IPO. For the current fiscal year through Dec. 31, the company forecasts a parent pretax profit of 181 million yen (US$1.5 million) and a net profit of 103 million yen (US$863,000). Last fiscal year, the company posted a net profit of 78 million yen (US$653,000). Mitsubishi UFJ Securities is the lead underwriter of the offer.
Hardware
ò Sharp Corp. said it would start selling a Blu-ray DVD player in March, becoming the latest company to throw its weight behind the high-definition optical disc standard vying with the HD DVD format. The player, BD-HP1, will go on sale in Japan on March 20, and the Osaka-based company expects it to sell for around 150,000 yen (US$1,238). Sharp said it plans to make 3,000 units a month of the machine, which can also be used as a DVD recorder when hooked up to Sharp's Aquos-brand LCD TVs. Its recording function is not compatible with other TVs. The company said plans regarding the overseas launch of its Blu-ray players have yet to be set. Besides Sharp, electronics makers such as Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. are promoting the Blu-ray format, while Toshiba Corp. is a leading proponent of the rival HD DVD technology.
ò Comture Corp., a computer system management and maintenance company, said it has received approval to list on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange in March. The company will offer 3,500 shares to the public in its IPO, with 3,000 newly issued shares and 500 as shares currently held in private. The company will conduct a book building for the IPO shares from March 1 to March 7. The company expects to net 439.3 million yen (US$3.6 million) from the IPO. Of the IPO proceeds, it plans to use 300 million yen (US$2.5 million) for repayment of debt, 30 million yen (US$251,000) to upgrade computer systems and the remaining 109.3 million yen (US$915,000) for working capital. For the current fiscal year through March 31, the company forecasts a parent pretax profit of 428 million yen (US$3.5 million), net profit of 235 million yen (US$2 million), and revenue of 5.3 billion yen (US$44.3 million). Last fiscal year, the company posted a parent pretax profit of 392 million yen (US$3.2 million) and a net profit of 213 million yen (US$1.7 million).
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