Now Softbank wants in on baseball

[Mulboyne]

Softbank eyes bidding to buy Daiei Hawks
Internet business investor Softbank Corp. is set to announce its bid to buy the Daiei Hawks professional baseball club, the Asahi Shimbun reported Monday. Softbank President Masayoshi Son will meet Fukuoka Gov. Wataru Aso and others concerned later in the day to convey the company's intention to buy the Pacific League club and seek their cooperation, the daily said. The move comes after struggling retailer Daiei Inc., the owner of the ball club, turned to the state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan for its rehabilitation last week.
Softbank, the parent of major broadband service provider Softbank BB Corp., will soon inform the IRCJ and Nippon Professional Baseball of its plan to acquire the Daiei Hawks with the aim at entering Japanese pro baseball next season, the paper said. The purchase is aimed at enhancing Softbank's image and recognition and also creating multiplier effects with its core Internet business, it said.

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Yahoo: Usen eyes buying pro baseball club Daiei Hawks

Usen Corp., a provider of broadband Internet services, is considering making a rival bid against industry peer Softbank Corp. to purchase the Daiei Hawks pro baseball club, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The move emerged in the wake of an announcement by Softbank earlier this week that it will seek to buy the Fukuoka-based baseball club from its financially troubled owner Daiei Inc.
Usen operates a cable network for music broadcasting as its mainstay business. It entered the high-speed Internet access business in March 2001 when it started providing fiber-optic broadband communication services for home users.
The sources said Usen thinks buying the baseball club will help boost its name recognition and expand the client base, but the company has yet to tell Daiei it wants to purchase the club.

Do all these internet companies actually want to buy baseball teams? I can't help but think that Usen just wants to get some publicity for its service by being part of this story.

[Captain Japan]

Do all these internet companies actually want to buy baseball teams? I can't help but think that Usen just wants to get some publicity for its service by being part of this story.

Looks like Softbank went ahead and did it...
Daiei to sell Hawks to Softbank

Daiei, Ltd., a financially troubled operator of a major supermarket chain, is poised to sell its Fukuoka Daiei Hawks professional baseball club to Softbank Corp., a communications giant, company sources said.

Colony Capital, a U.S. investment company that owns the Fukuoka Dome stadium, has approved the deal.

Daiei, Colony and Softbank are expected to sign an official contract on the sale of the Pacific League club by the end of this month at the earliest.

Daiei made the decision as no other company has offered to take over Hawks and Softbank has pledged to invest a considerable amount of money to strengthen the team.

Maybe Usen was just foolin' after all...

[Mulboyne]

Why are Daiei managers making the decision to sell? The IRCJ should have jurisdiction over all assets. Softbank, legally, needs to deal with them unless ordinary contract rules don't apply in matters relating to Japanese baseball...

[Mulboyne]

Maybe Usen was just foolin' after all...

IT firm Usen considers buying Seibu Lions

I'm not convinced Usen is a serious bidder. Kokudo has denied that it is thinking of selling the Lions but they need some cash from somewhere, if only to buy Seibu shares back from all their corporate friends.

[Captain Japan]

Maybe Usen was just foolin' after all...

IT firm Usen considers buying Seibu Lions

I'm not convinced Usen is a serious bidder. Kokudo has denied that it is thinking of selling the Lions but they need some cash from somewhere, if only to buy Seibu shares back from all their corporate friends.

Kokudo president denies Lions for sale

Minoru Mikami, president of troubled property developer Kokudo Corp., denied plans to sell the Seibu Lions baseball team, but he admitted there is ``no merit'' in owning the money-losing club.

The company, struggling from a stock scandal, is trying to quickly patch up problems. It also vowed to buy back flagging Seibu Railway Co. shares from griping investors.

Looks like they'll be dumping the team at some point...

Mikami admitted Kokudo sold Seibu shares to more than 50 companies before it admitted inaccuracies in the railway's financial statements on Oct. 13. The stock price has since tumbled to less than half the purchase prices.

About 20 companies are demanding Kokudo buy back the shares at the original purchase prices, he said.

Shouldn't somebody be going to jail?

[Taro Toporific]

Maybe Usen was just foolin' after all...

BTW: By the way folks...

Old Captain Japan has a big story on the base basebase biz this week: Where Eagles Dare: Rakuten to Play Hard Ball

[Mulboyne]

The FT "Lex" Column (no link) engages in a bit of gratuitous baseball-bashing.

Softbank has been a cut-throat competitor in broadband and fixed line. Adding mobile to the bundle should add some synergies. But Softbank's plans look patchy and its decision to buy the Daiei Hawks baseball team hardly suggests capital discipline. Baseball is one of the few activities where one can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a winner. Likewise, Softbank has relied on a few big hits to make up for many silly investments. Its mobile venture looks more like the latter.

[Taro Toporific]

The FT "Lex" Column (no link) engages in a bit of gratuitous baseball-bashing.

Likewise, Softbank has relied on a few big hits to make up for many silly investments. Its mobile venture looks more like the latter.

There's a little gratuitous Softbank bashing going on too. For better or for worse, those "many silly investments" are Softbank's business model. The WiFi phone venture looks damn clever on paper to me...it's just a logical extention of their VoIP phones bundled with their broadband.

The few times I've caught Son-san in the elevator, I've mentioned his strike-out record. He proudly said he's the "Babe Ruth" of CEOs...the most strike-outs of any Japanese shacho and the biggest grand slams. Of course, Son-san also dumped my e-commerce project, meh.