ID :
147716
Thu, 10/28/2010 - 03:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/147716
The shortlink copeid
JS Group gives up bid to acquire BayStars baseball club+
TOKYO, Oct. 27 Kyodo -
JS Group Corp. has given up its bid to acquire the Yokohama BayStars
professional baseball team after negotiations with Tokyo Broadcasting System
Holdings Inc., the club's top shareholder, broke off due to disagreement over
the location of the team's home stadium and other key issues, the housing
fixture company said Wednesday.
''We have worked hard until the last moment but the outcome turned out
disappointing,'' said Kazumi Mizoguchi, vice president of Tostem Corp., a JS
Group unit, at a press conference. He said the two sides failed to agree on
various purchase conditions, including the stadium location and personnel
affairs.
TBS Holdings, which holds a stake of 69.2 percent in the BayStars, also
announced the end of negotiations Wednesday.
''We have decided to break off the talks as scheduled events such as the
amateur draft (on Thursday) have given us little time to spare,'' said TBS
Holdings President Keizo Zaitsu at a separate press conference.
Under a professional baseball agreement, a change in ownership of a team taking
effect the next season must be endorsed by baseball officials by Nov. 30. JS
Group and TBS tried to reach an accord by the end of October.
Zaitsu suggested that the broadcaster will remain the team's owner next season,
but added that TBS will consider selling the team again if another firm
presents a buyout proposal with favorable conditions for the team.
TBS Holdings, the owner of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc., has been
seeking to sell the BayStars due to difficulty in maintaining the team amid
severe business conditions, such as a drop in advertising revenues.
The Central League club finished last this season for the third consecutive
year under first-year manager Takao Obana and is deep in the red, partly due to
a declining number of spectators.
''I have heard from Yokohama that Obana will continue to take the helm for the
next season,'' Zaitsu said.
The housing equipment maker and the broadcaster failed to narrow their
differences over whether to relocate the BayStars' home stadium from the
current high-cost Yokohama Stadium, sources familiar with the matter said.
JS Group had sought to move the stadium to Niigata, where local authorities are
enthusiastic about bringing in a professional baseball club, but TBS wanted the
BayStars to stay in Yokohama Stadium, they said.
JS Group, a holding company that presides over home product firms such as
Tostem and INAX Corp, had hoped to raise the profile of the group's Lixil brand
by becoming the owner of the baseball club.
Meanwhile, Nojima Corp., a Yokohama-based electronics retail store chain
operator that voiced its intention to consider acquiring the club earlier this
month, said it will continue its efforts for the bid.
''We will consider (acquiring the club) if an offer is made by TBS Holdings,''
said a Nojima public relations official. Nojima is yet to start negotiations as
TBS Holdings has picked JS Group as the priority buyout candidate.
Senior officials at TBS were surprised by JS Group's decision, as they thought
negotiations between the two companies had been making progress.
''As far as reading media reports, I thought the negotiations were going
well,'' a TBS executive said. ''I was shocked at the news.''
Another TBS senior official said, ''I'm wary that the image of the BayStars
will worsen (following the news).''
A Yokohama baseball club employee said, ''What is going on? I'm worried that
nobody will buy the team.''
Another Yokohama employee was skeptical about JS Group, calling its move ''a
publicity stunt.''
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, JS Group briefly jumped 74 yen, or 4.61 percent,
to 1,605 yen following news reports that JS Group is giving up its bid to
acquire Yokohama, as fears receded about the impact of the costly buyout on its
business.
Shares of JS Group had been declining mostly after a rebound on Oct. 1, when
media reports said the company would consider acquiring BayStars. The group's
stocks turned lower as market players thought the acquisition would not raise
the company's profile as it did for Softbank Mobile Corp. and Rakuten Inc. in
purchasing pro baseball clubs, market sources said.
==Kyodo
JS Group Corp. has given up its bid to acquire the Yokohama BayStars
professional baseball team after negotiations with Tokyo Broadcasting System
Holdings Inc., the club's top shareholder, broke off due to disagreement over
the location of the team's home stadium and other key issues, the housing
fixture company said Wednesday.
''We have worked hard until the last moment but the outcome turned out
disappointing,'' said Kazumi Mizoguchi, vice president of Tostem Corp., a JS
Group unit, at a press conference. He said the two sides failed to agree on
various purchase conditions, including the stadium location and personnel
affairs.
TBS Holdings, which holds a stake of 69.2 percent in the BayStars, also
announced the end of negotiations Wednesday.
''We have decided to break off the talks as scheduled events such as the
amateur draft (on Thursday) have given us little time to spare,'' said TBS
Holdings President Keizo Zaitsu at a separate press conference.
Under a professional baseball agreement, a change in ownership of a team taking
effect the next season must be endorsed by baseball officials by Nov. 30. JS
Group and TBS tried to reach an accord by the end of October.
Zaitsu suggested that the broadcaster will remain the team's owner next season,
but added that TBS will consider selling the team again if another firm
presents a buyout proposal with favorable conditions for the team.
TBS Holdings, the owner of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc., has been
seeking to sell the BayStars due to difficulty in maintaining the team amid
severe business conditions, such as a drop in advertising revenues.
The Central League club finished last this season for the third consecutive
year under first-year manager Takao Obana and is deep in the red, partly due to
a declining number of spectators.
''I have heard from Yokohama that Obana will continue to take the helm for the
next season,'' Zaitsu said.
The housing equipment maker and the broadcaster failed to narrow their
differences over whether to relocate the BayStars' home stadium from the
current high-cost Yokohama Stadium, sources familiar with the matter said.
JS Group had sought to move the stadium to Niigata, where local authorities are
enthusiastic about bringing in a professional baseball club, but TBS wanted the
BayStars to stay in Yokohama Stadium, they said.
JS Group, a holding company that presides over home product firms such as
Tostem and INAX Corp, had hoped to raise the profile of the group's Lixil brand
by becoming the owner of the baseball club.
Meanwhile, Nojima Corp., a Yokohama-based electronics retail store chain
operator that voiced its intention to consider acquiring the club earlier this
month, said it will continue its efforts for the bid.
''We will consider (acquiring the club) if an offer is made by TBS Holdings,''
said a Nojima public relations official. Nojima is yet to start negotiations as
TBS Holdings has picked JS Group as the priority buyout candidate.
Senior officials at TBS were surprised by JS Group's decision, as they thought
negotiations between the two companies had been making progress.
''As far as reading media reports, I thought the negotiations were going
well,'' a TBS executive said. ''I was shocked at the news.''
Another TBS senior official said, ''I'm wary that the image of the BayStars
will worsen (following the news).''
A Yokohama baseball club employee said, ''What is going on? I'm worried that
nobody will buy the team.''
Another Yokohama employee was skeptical about JS Group, calling its move ''a
publicity stunt.''
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, JS Group briefly jumped 74 yen, or 4.61 percent,
to 1,605 yen following news reports that JS Group is giving up its bid to
acquire Yokohama, as fears receded about the impact of the costly buyout on its
business.
Shares of JS Group had been declining mostly after a rebound on Oct. 1, when
media reports said the company would consider acquiring BayStars. The group's
stocks turned lower as market players thought the acquisition would not raise
the company's profile as it did for Softbank Mobile Corp. and Rakuten Inc. in
purchasing pro baseball clubs, market sources said.
==Kyodo
