SoftBank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
link =
 This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia. (May 2013)
SoftBank Corp.
ソフトバンク株式会社
Type Public
Traded as TYO: 9984
OTC Pink: SFTBF
Industry Telecommunications
Founded September 3, 1981 (1981-09-03)
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Key people Masayoshi Son
(Chairman & CEO)
Products Fixed line and mobile telephony, Internet services, digital television
Revenue Increase ¥3.202 trillion (2012)[1]
Operating income Increase ¥625.3 billion (2012)[1]
Net income Increase ¥313.7 billion (2012)[1]
Total assets Increase ¥4.899 trillion (2012)[1]
Total equity Increase ¥937.5 billion (2012)[1]
Employees 22,710 (2012)[1]
Subsidiaries SoftBank Mobile
SoftBank Telecom
SoftBank Creative
SoftBank BB
Yahoo! Japan (~35%)
Website www.softbank.co.jp

SoftBank Corp. (ソフトバンク株式会社 Sofutobanku Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a Japanese telecommunications and Internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses.

SoftBank was established in Tokyo, Japan on September 3, 1981, and had a market capitalization of approximately US$43.52 billion at March 2011.

SoftBank's corporate profile includes various other companies such as Japanese broadband company Softbank BB, data center company IDC Frontier, gaming company GungHo Online Entertainment, and the publishing company SoftBank Creative. Additionally, it has various partnerships in Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies such as Yahoo!, E-Trade, Ustream.tv, EF Education First and Morningstar. SBI Group is a Japanese financial services company that began in 1999 as a branch of SoftBank.[2]

SoftBank was the only official carrier of the iPhone in Japan until the release of iPhone 4S when it became available on au by KDDI as well.[3]

On October 14, 2012, it announced that it will acquire 70% of the U.S. telecommunications company Sprint Nextel Corporation (Sprint) (NYSE: S), for $20.1 billion.[4] The deal is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2013.

A Softbank marketing campaign, beginning in June 2007, featuring a dog named "Otosan" who acts as patriarch for a human family known as the "Shiratos", has been one of Japan's most successful ad campaigns during that time.[5]

Contents

Timeline [edit]

  • 1995 - Bought COMDEX from The Interface Group
  • 1999 - Allowed organizers of COMDEX to restrict admission of media, creating a spiraling effect
  • 2001 - Sold COMDEX to Key3Media, a spin-off of Ziff Davis
  • January 28, 2005 - SoftBank becomes the owner of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a Nippon Professional Baseball team.
  • March 17, 2006 - SoftBank announces its agreement to buy Vodafone Japan, giving it a stake in Japan's $78 billion mobile market.
  • Early April, 2006 - SoftBank completed the purchase of 23% of Betfair, an Internet betting exchange.
  • October 1, 2006 - Vodafone Japan changes its corporate name, mobile phone brand name, and its mobile phone domain name to SoftBank Mobile, SoftBank, and [mb.softbank.jp] respectively.[6]
  • January 28, 2008 - It was announced that SoftBank and Tiffany & Co. collaborated in making a limited 10 model-only cellphone. This cellphone contains more than 400 platinum diamond, totalling more than 20 carat. The cost is said to be more than 100,000,000 yen.[7]
  • June 4, 2008 - SoftBank Mobile announced partnership with Apple and brought the iPhone (3G) to Japan later in 2008 [8]
  • February 3, 2010 - SoftBank acquired 13.7% in Ustream with the option to increase shares to 30% by July 2011.[9]
  • October 1, 2010 - Ayumi Hamasaki becomes the commercial spokesperson.[10]
  • October 3, 2012 - Masayoshi Son announced the take over of its competitor eAccess [11]
  • October 15, 2012 - SoftBank announced plans to take control of Sprint Nextel by purchasing a 70% stake for $20 billion.[12][13]
  • January 7, 2013 - SoftBank announced that eAccess became SOFTBANK's wholly owned subsidiary effective January 1, 2013.

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "SoftBank Data Book 2010". Retrieved October 26, 2011. 
  2. ^ SBI Group, Corporate history
  3. ^ SoftBank reaches deal with Apple to sell iPhone handsets in Japan this year, International Herald Tribune.
  4. ^ Softbank to buy 70 percent stake in Sprint -- sources
  5. ^ Corkill, Edan, "Otosan, Japan's top dog", Japan Times, 29 April 2012, p. 7.
  6. ^ ITmedia +D モバイル：ボーダフォン、メールのドメイン名も「ソフトバンク」へ──10月1日から
  7. ^ "上戸彩：超高価ケータイ「ないしょにしてね」" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  8. ^ "念願のiPhoneを獲得した舞台裏　ソフトバンク、トラウマ乗り越える" (in Japanese). 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
  9. ^ Japan Today Softbank profit soars; buys stake in Ustream, February 3, 2010
  10. ^ Yahoo Japan
  11. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/03/softbank-buys-eaccess-expand-lte-network/
  12. ^ "Softbank to buy 70 percent stake in Sprint -- source". NBC News. Retrieved October 15, 2012. 
  13. ^ "Softbank to Buy 70 Percent Stake in Sprint: Sources". CNBC. Retrieved October 15, 2012. 

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: SoftBank
Portal icon Companies portal
SoftBank
Group companies
Related Articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SoftBank&oldid=556541851"