Japan regulators probing KDDI over Jupiter deal
February 3, 2010
The Japanese Financial Services Agency has started an investigation into KDDI over its planned purchase of Jupiter Telecommunications shares from Liberty Global, according to reports in Japanese newspapers.
The FSA is asking KDDI to change the planned purchasing method for the shares to a tender offer, the report said, as the transaction in its current form may violate the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and could result in more than Y80 billion in penalties.
KDDI said last week it has agreed to purchase a 38 per cent stake in Jupiter Telecommunications from Liberty in a deal valued at $4 billion. KDDI is already Japan’s second-largest cable TV company by subscribers, and the deal would give the combined group roughly half of Japan’s cable TV market.