Reports: Phone giant NTT plans to take over, delist Docomo

MITO, Japan – Shares in Japanese telecoms giant Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, or NTT, fell Tuesday on news it is preparing for a takeover of its mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other media reported that DoCoMo’s board would meet later in the day to vote on the plan.

The reports said NTT plans to delist NTT DoCoMo, taking it private to enable the mobile carrier to offer cheaper rates in competition with rivals such as SoftBank and KDDI.

The company’s shares fell 3.1%. DoCoMo’s shares were suspended from trading.

NTT’s reported plan dovetails with newly installed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s push for lower telecoms rates.

DoCoMo said in a release it had no news to report ahead of the board meeting.

It said, “once a decision is made, our company will make an announcement promptly.”