Access Shares Decline as Japan's Ministry of Finance Plans to Sell Stake
Access Co., a Japanese mobile-phone software company, fell in Tokyo after the Ministry of Finance said it plans to sell its stake at “an early date.”
Access slid 2.2 percent to 111,600 yen at the 3 p.m. close of trading. Earlier it fell as much as 3.6 percent, the biggest drop since Sept. 9. The benchmark Topix index rose 2.2 percent.
The ministry owns 5.87 percent of Tokyo-based Access as of Nov. 15, it said in a filing today. It obtained the stake after the family of a shareholder paid inheritance tax with shares.
The Finance Ministry will sell the shares at “an early date” after watching market movements to determine the best timing, Masahiro Kato, government shareholdings officer at the ministry, said in a phone interview.
Toru Arakawa, Access’ founder, died in October 2009, and his family had been discussing how to divide his assets, including the shares, said Naomi Suzuki, an official at the company’s investor relations section.
NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s largest mobile-phone operator, is the biggest shareholder of Access.
To contact the reporters on this story: Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo at thyuga@bloomberg.net; Kazuyo Sawa in Tokyo at Ksawa3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chitra Somayaji at csomayaji@bloomberg.net
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