TOKYO, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) on Tuesday planned a bid to acquire 100 percent ownership of its mobile carrier business NTT Docomo Inc., according to the two companies.
According to sources close to the matter, the deal, to be proposed at its board meeting later in the day, is worth in the region of 4 trillion yen (37.92 billion U.S. dollars).
NTT currently holds around 66 percent stake in the mobile phone service company, which is the largest mobile carrier in Japan and the most profitable in the NTT group.
The parent company is expected to make a tender offer Tuesday to make its mobile unit a wholly-owned subsidiary by acquiring the remaining 34 percent stock in the company, sources close to the matter said.
NTT has its sights set on enhancing its competitiveness in 5G and other next-generation communications networks, with the acquisition coming as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is pushing for lower smartphone service fees amid broader private and public sector digitalization initiatives.
The acquisition would allow NTT to offer a more enhanced, cost-effective and better-supported business and management structure to support its next-generation mobile carrier offerings. Enditem
