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Once-White Knight Kitao Turns on Fuji Group 20 Years Later

Once-White Knight Kitao Turns on Fuji Group 20 Years Later

Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and president of SBI Holdings, answers questions from reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and president of SBI Holdings, answers questions from reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.

   Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--Yoshitaka Kitao, who 20 years ago acted as a white knight for Fuji Television Network Inc. in a takeover battle with now-defunct Livedoor Co., is now poised to fight Fuji Media Holdings Inc.'s management if it opposes his plans to reform the embattled media group.
   Kitao, chairman and president of SBI Holdings Inc., is one of 12 candidates for Fuji Media's board of directors proposed this week by Dalton Investments, a major Fuji Media shareholder.
   At a press conference on Thursday, Kitao expressed regret for helping the Fuji group fend off a takeover bid from Livedoor, which was led by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie.
   "I did a bad thing to Horie," Kitao said, noting that he changed his mind after reading a third-party panel's recent report that highlighted Fuji Media's poor corporate governance.
   In 2005, Livedoor attempted to control Fuji TV by buying its then top shareholder, radio broadcaster Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. Kitao was entrusted with Nippon Broadcasting's shares in Fuji TV to prevent Livedoor from having influence over Fuji TV if it acquired Nippon Broadcasting.

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AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL


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