Q41Are there any cases of Japanese companies buying Japan-based enterprises that previously had been acquired by overseas companies?

A41 Yes. The case that stands out is the acquisition by Softbank Corp. of the Japanese operations of the major British mobile phone company Vodafone. Through a takeover bid in April 2006, the Softbank Group purchased 97.6% of the publicly listed shares of Vodafone's Japan-based corporation for 1.75 trillion yen. It later increased its shareholding. In 2004, Softbank acquired the third-Escalating mergers and acquisitions Co., Ltd. from Ripplewood Holdings LLC and other investors.

In February 2005, it acquired Cable and Wireless IDC Inc., the Japan-based corporation owned by the British company Cable and Wireless and integrated it with Japan Telecom. Since its subsidiary Softbank BB owns the asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) Internet access service Yahoo! BB, the Softbank Group has now been transformed into a general communications company, offering both fixed-line and wireless services.