MAINICHI



 

 
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- KDDI Corp. said Tuesday it will increase its stake in online brokerage kabu.com Securities Co. to 49 percent.
 
The tender offer will be carried out in late April at the earliest, as KDDI, Japan's second-largest mobile carrier, seeks new revenue sources amid fierce competition in a saturated market.

KDDI President Makoto Takahashi said the increased stake would be a natural fit with the company's core telecommunications business, telling a press conference that "smartphones will become crucial to making financial transactions" amid the spread of fintech, the combination of financial services with information technology.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., which currently owns about 59 percent of kabu.com, will lower its stake to 51 percent. The brokerage is expected to be delisted from the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

KDDI, the operator of the "au" mobile phone service, also said it will turn affiliate Jibun Bank Corp., in which it currently holds an even-split ownership with MUFG Bank, into a subsidiary by boosting its stake to 63.78 percent in a 25 billion yen ($226 million) new share issuance.

Jibun Bank and four other KDDI subsidiaries will be transferred to KDDI's new intermediate financial holding company, au Financial Holdings Corp., in April.