TOKYO: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. is considering fully acquiring mobile carrier subsidiary NTT Docomo Inc. in a 4-trillion-yen deal, it was learned Tuesday.

NTT is expected to buy about 30 pct of NTT Docomo shares held by general investors in a tender offer, as it hopes to rationalize the subsidiary’s operations to prepare for a possible mobile communications fee cut.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is urging major Japanese carriers to slash their mobile phone charges, saying their fees are very high by international standards.

The rationalization would allow NTT Docomo to raise funds to invest more on fifth-generation, or 5G, superhigh wireless communications projects.

NTT holds more than 60 pct of NTT Docomo. The costs to buy the remaining shares would reach around 4 trillion yen if the parent pays a 30 pct premium over the current NTT Docomo stock price.

NTT’s mobile communications division was split from NTT in 1992 as told by the government, which hoped to secure fair competition in the telecommunications industry.

The new company, then named NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s first section in 1998.

If the expected tender offer ends in success, NTT Docomo will be delisted.

This year, NTT announced capital alliances with Toyota Motor Corp. and NEC Corp.

NTT apparently hopes to enhance its international competitiveness by strengthening its investment in 5G and internet of things (IoT) projects, fields where NTT is lagging behind foreign rivals, informed sources said.

JIJI Press