Softbank Corp. said Friday it has reached an agreement with Vodafone Group PLC to buy 97.7 percent of its Japanese unit for 1.75 trillion yen in a move that will allow it to acquire Vodafone K.K.'s 15 million users and its nationwide mobile communications network.
The buyout, the largest ever for a Japanese company, is expected to be completed within two months.
The sale will transform the Internet and financial services firm into a comprehensive telecommunications company offering both fixed-line and mobile telephony, and challenges the two leaders in the domestic mobile phone business -- NTT Docomo Inc. and KDDI Corp., operator of the au service.
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