Japan Telecom buys Toyota J-Phone stake

Japan's biggest carmaker Toyota has sold its entire holdings in J-Phone to Japan Telecom

By Staff and wire reports

TOKYO, Japan -- Toyota has sold its entire holdings in three J-Phone group firms to Japan Telecom in a sell-off valued at $323.6 million.

Before the sale, Toyota owned 1.97 percent of J-Phone East, 1.98 percent of J-Phone Central and 5.01 percent of J-Phone West.

The sale was completed at the end of March, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Japan Telecom will use some of the shares bought from Toyota to conclude the transfer of a five percent stake in its three J-Phone subsidiary units to British Telecommunications (BT).

Japan's leading auto maker is also the second-largest shareholder in KDDI, a direct competitor to J-Phone in the cellular phone business.

Focus on telecom projects through KDDI

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Toyota intends to focus on telecom projects, such as intelligent transport systems using wireless communications, through KDDI.

Even before the latest purchase from Toyota, Japan Telecom owned about 20 percent of each of the three J-Phone companies.

Japan's number-three carrier agreed to sell stakes of around 5 percent each in J-Phone East, Central and West to BT, its second-largest shareholder after Vodafone. The telco says it will use some of the shares bought from Toyota to complete the transfer.

Japan Telecom announced on Friday it issued options allowing BT to pay $550 million for stakes of nearly five percent in the three operating units of its J-Phone wireless subsidiary.

Reuters contributed to this report.

BT clinches options for Japan Telecom cell unit
Apr. 13, 2001

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