NTT to Take Full Control of NTT Data Group

Tokyo, May 8 (Jiji Press)--Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said Thursday that it will take full control of NTT Data Group Corp., a publicly traded subsidiary that provides technology services to corporate clients.

The Japanese telecommunications company, which already owns about 58 pct of NTT Data Group, plans to spend over 2.37 trillion yen to buy the rest of outstanding shares in the unit including through a tender offer.

The move is aimed at speeding up decision-making and accelerating the overseas expansion of NTT Data Group as demand for its data centers has been rapidly increasing on the back of the spread of artificial intelligence.

The tender offer will run from Friday to June 19 with an offer price of 4,000 yen per share, more than 30 pct higher than NTT Data Group’s closing price on Wednesday. If the bid is successful, NTT Data Group is expected to be delisted.

By taking full ownership of the unit, NTT hopes to strengthen internal cooperation over corporate sales. It will also seek to upgrade its data centers by utilizing the IOWN high-speed, large-capacity optical communications infrastructure.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]