人気ブログランキング | 話題のタグを見る

コンピュータ研究


by papasone
カレンダー
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

Livedoor CEO held on fraud charges

TOKYO, Japan -- Takafumi Horie, chief executive of Japanese Internet firm Livedoor Co., has been arrested on financial fraud charges.

Prosecutors said Horie, who was arrested with three other executives, had sought to boost share prices by spreading false information, issuing shares to "acquire" firms that it already controlled and then selling them for a profit.

The arrest culminates a weeklong investigation into Livedoor Co., which began with a surprise raid on its Tokyo headquarters and 33-year-old Horie's home last Monday evening and sparked turmoil in Japan's stock market.

Livedoor, whose stock was put on special watch list on the Tokyo exchange, has lost about 64 percent, or $4 billion, in market value since authorities raided its headquarters.

Japanese prosecutors can hold suspects for three weeks without filing charges. Horie has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

"I have no recollection on any of the allegations. And I don't even know how to comment because I have no idea what kind of investigation the media reports are coming from. That's the situation," Horie wrote in his blog over the weekend.

Livedoor's shares were flooded with sell orders on Monday and ended down by their daily 80-yen limit at 256 yen, a level that KBC Securities has calculated as a worst-case scenario break-up value if the group had to be sold off.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange put Livedoor on the watch list after the company submitted the results of an internal investigation about allegations that it spread false information and window-dressed earnings but the exchange said the disclosure was not sufficient.

"The collapse of 'The Department Store of Crime' Livedoor is drawing nearer," Daiwa Institute of Research said in a research note. "Talk in the market about Livedoor going bankrupt or being broken up and sold is strong."

If Livedoor is found guilty of tampering with its accounts, the company's stock is likely to be moved through two other watch lists before being delisted, according to analysts.

Livedoor is believed to have issued new shares to "acquire" companies that were already under the group's control and then sold them in the market for a profit, media reports have said.

Authorities believe the once high-flying company broke the law on more acquisitions than initially suspected using the scheme, they said.

"If Livedoor is delisted, it's possible that the company will be bought by an investment fund after a due diligence process," Merrill Lynch strategist Masatoshi Kikuchi said in a research note.

KBC analyst Hiroshi Kamide put a worst-case break-up value on Livedoor of 256 yen per share, or 269 billion yen ($2.34 billion).

In the best case -- that is, without discounting the business -- the company would be worth 528 yen per share, or 554 billion yen, he said in a research note last week.

Some analysts, however, cautioned against calculating break-up values too soon before any charges have been filed against the company or its executives.

"The big unknown is the value of what's left," said an analyst who declined to be named, noting the continued drop in subsidiary Livedoor Marketing's shares and the questionable value of the Internet portal's Web address.

"New things come out every day. We don't know what's going on," the analyst said.

The investigation has put a spotlight on aggressive Japanese start-ups that have grown rapidly through acquisitions, defying traditional business practices that honour harmony and modestly.

Fallout from the investigation wreaked havoc on the Tokyo Stock Exchange last week, forcing the bourse to shorten trading hours after investors flooded the market with sell orders and nearly overwhelmed its cment, e-commerce and e-finance firms.

A spokeswoman said Livedoor still planned to release third-quarter results but had not decided on a date.

Horie wrote in his Web diary that he was in meetings every day about the investigation.

But the company also appeared to be continuing its day-to-day business as Horie took the opportunity to pitch a new feature that alerts users about new information on its portal.

Livedoor CEO held on fraud charges_c0016821_11552484.jpg
by papasone | 2006-01-24 11:55 | 時事問題