KDDI Corporation

Hong Kong fund Oasis Management said on the 19th that among multiple buyout proposals for Kakaku.com, in which it holds about 19.5% of shares, the tender offer of up to 3,640 yen per share currently proposed by the LINE Yahoo consortium is the best option for minority shareholders. It also said that as long as the price of the rival tender offer by European investment firm EQT, at 3,570 yen, is below the LINE Yahoo camp's offer, it has no intention of tendering its shares to EQT. Kakaku.com has expressed support for EQT's buyout proposal, and on the 13th the price was raised from 3,450 yen to 3,570 yen per share. LINE Yahoo, teaming up with US investment fund Bain Capital, set the purchase price at 3,520 yen per share if it launches a tender offer for Kakaku.com, and at 3,640 yen if it signs an agreement under which major shareholder KDDI will not tender. LINE Yahoo has made Kakaku.com's expression of support a condition for launching the tender offer. KDDI has already signed a non-tender agreement with EQT, and can tender to a rival offer only if that rival offer is launched at a price more than 2% above EQT's tender offer price. For this reason, Kakaku.com regards the 3,640 yen price as unfeasible, but Oasis said that if EQT's tender offer fails, the main obligations under the existing contract would lapse, making a tender offer at 3,640 yen feasible. It also called on Kakaku.com to take steps such as withdrawing its support for EQT's proposal.

KDDI President Hiroji Matsuda revealed on the 7th a policy to terminate the current contract for providing mobile network roaming to Rakuten Mobile at the end of September. From October onward, provision in urban areas will be discontinued, while it will continue for a certain period only in some rural areas where Rakuten's base station deployment is lagging. This is to focus on improving communication quality for its own brand users, and President Matsuda stated, "The network is experiencing more congestion than expected. Ending the contract will resolve this." KDDI has been providing roaming to Rakuten since October 2019, but due to delays in Rakuten's 5G base station deployment, the termination of provision may lead to a decline in communication quality.

Nokia insiders have been quietly accumulating shares, signaling confidence in the company's AI-driven network strategy backed by a $1 billion investment from Nvidia. In late May, Victoria Hanrahan, chief of staff to the CEO, bought 44,682 shares on the NYSE at an average price of about $15.81 per share, a purchase worth just over $700,000. On July 24, senior manager Patrik Hammarén acquired 43,293 shares in Helsinki at around 8.44 euros, board member Timo Ihamuotila picked up 60,000 shares across multiple European venues at roughly 8.45 euros, and senior manager Pallavi Mahajan bought 62,000 shares on the NYSE at about $9.55. The buying spree follows Nokia's October 2025 strategic partnership with Nvidia to pioneer an AI platform for 6G, which includes Nvidia's $1 billion equity investment at $6.01 per share and plans to integrate Nvidia GPUs into Nokia's base stations. T-Mobile US has agreed to trial Nokia's AI RAN designs starting in 2026, and Nokia is building an AI RAN center in Dallas with partners like KDDI and SoftBank to develop AI-powered radio networks.

European investment firm EQT announced on the 31st that it has extended the tender offer period for Kakaku.com from the previous deadline of August 3 to August 17. EQT launched the tender offer on May 13, and on July 17 raised the offer price from 3,000 yen to 3,450 yen per share while extending the period from July 22 to August 3. Meanwhile, LINE Yahoo, which has also made a takeover proposal, announced on the 29th that it would raise its offer price to 3,520 yen per share in partnership with US investment fund Bain Capital if it proceeds with a tender offer, and that the price would be raised from 3,500 yen to 3,640 yen per share if major shareholder KDDI agrees not to tender its shares. Kakaku.com's closing price on the 31st was 3,690 yen, up 0.22 percent from the previous trading day.

Okinawa Cellular Telephone, KDDI, and Tokio Marine Asset Management have launched the Ishigaki Island Future Seagrass Bed Project, which uses NFTs to protect the endangered seagrass species known as sea vine on Ishigaki Island. A portion of the funds from digital art purchases will be channeled into seagrass bed restoration activities, and support histories will be recorded on the blockchain to visualize the ongoing relationship between supporters and the local community. The digital art will be sold on an online store operated by Okinawa Cellular from July 16 to September 30, priced between 2,000 yen and 30,000 yen. Depending on the purchase plan, benefits include having the supporter's name printed on T-shirts worn by children participating in conservation activities, a tour of a Euglena factory, and the placement of name tags on protective fences. According to the three companies, this is the first initiative in Japan to simultaneously advance the conservation of endangered species and support for artists with disabilities using blockchain technology.

BMW Group has launched a new connected vehicle platform in the U.S. in partnership with Verizon and KDDI, bringing 5G and IoT connectivity directly into newly manufactured BMW vehicles for telematics and infotainment services. The move marks a shift toward more integrated, software-centric car services for Bayerische Motoren Werke customers. BMW shares trade around €57.32, having declined 14.4% over the past month and 40.5% year to date.

Verizon Communications is expanding into connected vehicles through a new partnership with BMW Group and KDDI, focusing on 5G automotive services in the U.S., while also introducing the Gizmo Watch 4, a next-generation kid-focused wearable with new safety features and family rewards. The BMW and KDDI collaboration will integrate Verizon's 5G Standalone network into new BMW and MINI vehicles, tying its infrastructure to automotive platforms where connectivity is becoming a core feature. The Gizmo Watch 4 is tightly linked to the Verizon Family app, loyalty program, and Shine rewards, keeping Verizon involved in early-stage customer relationships. Additionally, Verizon was identified as a key participant in the high-growth Unified Communication as a Service market, pointing to its role in cloud-based collaboration and remote work tools alongside peers such as AT&T and T-Mobile.

Ken Tamagawa, President and CEO of Soracom, which operates an IoT platform, announced at the annual event SORACOM Discovery 2026 that the company reduced its selling, general and administrative expense ratio against revenue by 6 percentage points in one year through the use of generative AI. After declaring internally that it would become a post-AI organization, the company restructured into small teams for each business combined with AI, resulting in generative AI writing nearly 100 percent of source code and cutting SG&A costs without reducing headcount. Tamagawa noted that as AI foundation models become commoditized, competitive advantage lies in accumulating company-specific field data and token capital, the ability to master AI. Leveraging its strength in developing telecom as cloud-based software in-house, Soracom holds the gateway for feeding field data into AI. The newly announced AI agent service, SORACOM Agent, provides conversational support from IoT planning to operations and accumulates business knowledge as long-term memory. The company also jointly developed an IoT SIM with KDDI supporting the new eSIM standard SGP.32 for remote SIM rewriting, and began commercial provision. Furthermore, it announced a business selling core network software to telecom operators, with commercial use already underway through a joint venture with the Marubeni I-DIGIO Group.

Verizon Communications has partnered with KDDI Corporation to provide 5G Standalone and LTE connectivity for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles in the United States. The agreement covers BMW, MINI and other BMW Group vehicles, supporting the automaker's ConnectedDrive platform with advanced telematics, remote functions, digital infotainment and app-based services. Verizon's nationwide 5G infrastructure will work in collaboration with KDDI's Global Communications Platform to ensure secure, reliable data transmission. Newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles will be the first to operate on Verizon's nationwide 5G Standalone offering, powered by its 5G core and built-in 3GPP Release 16 industry standards. The deal strengthens Verizon's position in enterprise wireless services and expands its automotive portfolio, which already includes telematics services for Volkswagen Group brands.

Lawson will begin a pilot of in-store payments using the yen-denominated stablecoin JPYC in early August. The test will take place at the Lawson Takanawa Gateway City store operated by KDDI and Lawson, in collaboration with digital asset wallet provider HashPort. The trial will verify a system where a barcode is scanned at the point-of-sale terminal to update the JPYC balance. This is said to be Japan's first pilot of stablecoin payments linked to a POS system. Based on the results, Lawson will consider a full-scale rollout.

Circles, Greyskies, and HCLTech have joined the TM Forum Catalyst Program to co-develop an AI-powered multi-agent framework for autonomous network operations. The collaboration includes telecom operators Circles.Life, KDDI, Orange, and TELUS, and aims to unify customer experience, network operations, and business processes into a real-time operational ecosystem. The solution combines Circles' AI-native digital telco platform, Greyskies' AI-enabled intelligent network operations, and HCLTech's expertise in AI, automation, and TM Forum Open APIs. It is designed to accelerate end-to-end automation, enhance service assurance, and improve customer engagement while unlocking new monetization opportunities. The Catalyst projects will be showcased at TM Forum's DTW Ignite event in Copenhagen from June 23 to 25.