SoftBank "In Discussions with Naver on Line Capital Change... Aiming to Finalize by Early July" (Update)

Japan's SoftBank announced that it is in talks with Naver regarding the capital restructuring of Line Yahoo. Although reaching an agreement is not easy, they intend to conclude the matter by early July as proposed by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Junichi Miyakawa, CEO of SoftBank, stated during the earnings conference call on the 9th, "We tried to reach a conclusion by today and even met yesterday, but no conclusion was reached." SoftBank and Naver each hold a 50% stake in A Holdings, the holding company of Line Yahoo.

CEO Miyakawa mentioned, "We want to reach an agreement by July 1, but I believe the difficulty level is quite high." July 1 is the deadline for Line Yahoo to report to Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications regarding administrative guidance. They intend to comply with the Japanese government's administrative guidance as much as possible.

CEO Miyakawa explained, "Naver is not passive about this issue," adding, "The announcement that Line Yahoo would reduce outsourcing to Naver to 'zero' was because Naver actively cooperated."