According to a regulatory filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Softbank Corp had been in talks with US-based smartphone distributor Brightstar Corp to acquire an ownership stake. The Nikkei newspaper reported earlier that the stake sale could fetch over JPY100 billion or USD1 billion.
The planned buyout came after the announcement of Softbank's acquisition of Finnish gamemaker Supercell. Softbank, led by billionaire Chairman and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, had been involved in not less than 12 deals in the past year. The strategy to expand in Europe and North America was reportedly done to address a growth stump in Japan.
Softbank emphasized in the filing that a decision has yet to be made about its buyout in Brightstar Corp. Brightstar Chairman Marcelo Claure told Bloomberg in an emailed response that the company would not respond on rumors.
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