Softbank to trim Yahoo Japan stake
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Softbank has already sold part of its stake in Yahoo Inc
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TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Internet investor Softbank Corp said on Monday it plans to cut its majority stake in Yahoo Japan Corp to 42 percent by selling shares in the Web portal to fund its fledgling broadband service.
The offering of 40,000 Yahoo Japan shares, due to take place from March 10 to March 12, would net Softbank 81.6 billion yen ($690 million) based on Yahoo Japan's February 28 closing share price of 2.04 million yen.
Softbank, which holds just over 50 percent of Yahoo Japan, also said it could book a consolidated investment profit of 78 billion yen from the offering at that price.
It said it would still incorporate Yahoo Japan earnings into its group results.
The move would mark the latest asset sale by Softbank in its transformation from once high-flying Internet investor to provider of high-speed Internet service.
Over the last year, Softbank has sold part of its shareholdings in Yahoo Inc and communications equipment maker UTStarcom Inc to pay for its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) business, Yahoo BB.
Yahoo BB, which was launched in September 2001, had 1.69 million subscribers in Japan at the end of last year.
Softbank shares closed at 1,562 yen on Friday, up more than 15 percent since the start of the year.
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