SoftBank to Buy Vodafone’s Japanese Unit

SoftBank Corp. basically agreed Vodafone Group to buy the entire stake of Japanese subsidiary Vodafone K.K., newspapers reported on Mar. 4.

Vodafone is the third largest mobile phone carrier in Japan, lagged behind the competitors. SoftBank launched the buyout attempt although it obtained government approval to enter the mobile phone market in Nov. 2005, as infrastructure construction takes time and costs a huge amount of money.