Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. will buy out International Digital Communications Inc. if the international service carrier unanimously agrees to the deal, NTT President Junichiro Miyazu said Wednesday.
Concerning the proposed buyout of IDC, NTT's position is not as progressive as has been reported, he said. "Our stance is that, if IDC unanimously asks us to buy its stakes, we will," he said, acknowledging that NTT has presented its conditions for the buyout to IDC.
Cable & Wireless PLC of Britain, one of IDC's major shareholders with a 17.69 percent stake, had expressed its intention to increase its stake in IDC in a move that would effectively block an NTT buyout.
IDC is expected to decide on its future in a board meeting slated for this afternoon. If realized, the buyout would enable NTT to avoid starting international services from scratch by utilizing IDC's personnel and clients, Miyazu said.
NTT, which currently dominates the country's local telecom market, will be reorganized in July into a long-distance company, which will offer international services, and two regional companies under the umbrella of a holding firm.
An affiliate of the former state-run carrier currently offers international services on a small scale. Toyota Motor Corp. and Itochu Corp. are -- along with C&W -- major shareholders of IDC, which has about 700 employees and six overseas offices.