TOKYO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Japanese mobile phone carrier Softbank Corp and private equity firm Advantage Partners may take stakes in wireless firm Willcom Inc, which is seeking help from a state-backed turnaround fund, the Nikkei daily reported on Friday.
Willcom, 60 percent-owned by private equity firm Carlyle , has been in talks with creditors on rescheduling its debt. It plans to apply for assistance from the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan (ETIC), the paper said.
Under a likely restructuring plan, current Willcom shareholders will lose their stakes and the ETIC, Softbank and Advantage Partners will take ownership of the company, the Nikkei said.
The size of each stake has not been decided, but the ETIC is expected to be the biggest shareholder, the paper said.
Other Willcom shareholders include components maker Kyocera Corp, which has a 30 percent stake, and mobile carrier KDDI, which holds 10 percent.
Willcom competes against Softbank and KDDI in the market to provide fast Internet access via data cards.
The ETIC and Willcom are also expected to ask the company's creditors to forgive part of its 93.5 billion yen ($1 billion) debt, the Nikkei said.
'We have been in negotiations to reach a conclusion in ADR process,' said Willcom spokesman Shinji Sugiuchi, referring to a debt reprieve procedure known as 'alternative dispute resolution'.
'For our business revival, we are also considering other options,' he said, declining to elaborate further.
A Softbank spokesman said the report was not based on something it had announced and declined to comment further.
Officials of the ETIC and Advantage Partners were not immediately available for comment.
Softbank, Japan's No. 3 mobile phone operator, is eyeing Willcom's next-generation high-speed wireless network and its subscribers, the paper said.
The ETIC is currently mulling a rescue package for Japan Airlines, and Kazuo Inamori, who has agreed to become the carrier's new chief executive, is the founder and honorary chairman of Kyocera and a Willcom director and senior adviser.
($1=91.22 Yen)
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by David Dolan)
((taiga.uranaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1813; Reuters Messaging: taiga.uranaka.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: WILLCOM/SOFTBANK (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Willcom, 60 percent-owned by private equity firm Carlyle , has been in talks with creditors on rescheduling its debt. It plans to apply for assistance from the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan (ETIC), the paper said.
Under a likely restructuring plan, current Willcom shareholders will lose their stakes and the ETIC, Softbank and Advantage Partners will take ownership of the company, the Nikkei said.
The size of each stake has not been decided, but the ETIC is expected to be the biggest shareholder, the paper said.
Other Willcom shareholders include components maker Kyocera Corp, which has a 30 percent stake, and mobile carrier KDDI, which holds 10 percent.
Willcom competes against Softbank and KDDI in the market to provide fast Internet access via data cards.
The ETIC and Willcom are also expected to ask the company's creditors to forgive part of its 93.5 billion yen ($1 billion) debt, the Nikkei said.
'We have been in negotiations to reach a conclusion in ADR process,' said Willcom spokesman Shinji Sugiuchi, referring to a debt reprieve procedure known as 'alternative dispute resolution'.
'For our business revival, we are also considering other options,' he said, declining to elaborate further.
A Softbank spokesman said the report was not based on something it had announced and declined to comment further.
Officials of the ETIC and Advantage Partners were not immediately available for comment.
Softbank, Japan's No. 3 mobile phone operator, is eyeing Willcom's next-generation high-speed wireless network and its subscribers, the paper said.
The ETIC is currently mulling a rescue package for Japan Airlines, and Kazuo Inamori, who has agreed to become the carrier's new chief executive, is the founder and honorary chairman of Kyocera and a Willcom director and senior adviser.
($1=91.22 Yen)
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by David Dolan)
((taiga.uranaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1813; Reuters Messaging: taiga.uranaka.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: WILLCOM/SOFTBANK (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
