Business Topics

Sep 27, 2013

Ford acquires access start-up

Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that it acquired the start-up company Livio in a bid to accelerate its efforts to help drivers safely access content on their smartphones while on the road. Livio, which is based in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, develops software ...

Sep 26, 2013

Nidec to buy out Mitsubishi Material's motor-making unit

Precision motor manufacturer Nidec Corp. said Thursday it will buy out a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. subsidiary that makes motors for automobiles as it prepares to jump into the growing market for such products. The acquisition of Mitsubishi Materials C.M.I. Corp. will enhance Nidec’s product ...

Sep 26, 2013

Lixil to pay $4 billion for Grohe of Germany

German sanitary fittings maker Grohe said Thursday that housing and building materials company Lixil has agreed to take it over in a deal valuing the German group at €3.06 billion ($4.1 billion). Grohe “has entered into an agreement with Lixil and Development Bank of ...

Sep 25, 2013

Amazon Japan begins online sales of OTC drugs, vitamins

Amazon Japan has begun online sales of over-the-counter drugs such as cold and digestive medicines, as well as vitamin supplements and other low-risk pharmaceutical products. The online retailer’s move came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration lifted a ban on online drug sales as ...

Sep 25, 2013

Applied Materials to buy rival Tokyo Electron

Applied Materials Inc., the world’s largest supplier of chip-making equipment, has agreed to acquire Tokyo Electron Ltd., its closest rival, for $9.39 billion (¥926 billion) in stock, in the largest bid by a foreign corporation for a Japanese firm in six years. Gary Dickerson, ...

Sep 25, 2013

Toshiba to give wind power generation a whirl

Toshiba Corp. is planning a major push into the wind power business. One of its wholly owned subsidiaries plans to acquire Sigma Power Janex Co., a spinoff of wind power operator Japan New Energy Explorer Co., or Janex, in mid-November for billions of yen. ...

Sep 25, 2013

Top carmakers slash output after green subsidies end

The nation’s top three automakers cut domestic output in August by double digits after the “green car” subsidy program ended, data released Wednesday show. Toyota Motor Corp.’s output sank 10.9 percent on year to 233,514 vehicles, Nissan Motor Corp.’s output fell 11.7 percent to ...

Big battery eyed as green energy cure

Sep 25, 2013

Big battery eyed as green energy cure

Japan will build the world’s largest storage battery system in Hokkaido as early as this autumn in a bid to rectify fluctuations in the electricity produced by renewable energy sources. The project is aimed at promoting renewable energy by addressing a key defect — ...

Lamborghini eyes first SUV since '90s

Sep 24, 2013

Lamborghini eyes first SUV since '90s

by Anna Mukai

Lamborghini expects the concept Urus vehicle, its first SUV since the Rambo Lambo of the 1990s, to get cleared for production, the supercar-maker’s chief executive officer said. “We’re working on it and it will come, which will be good for the brand,” Stephan Winkelmann ...

Fairfax bids $4.7 billion to take troubled BlackBerry private

Sep 24, 2013

Fairfax bids $4.7 billion to take troubled BlackBerry private

BlackBerry’s largest shareholder has reached a tentative agreement to pay $4.7 billion for the troubled smartphone maker, even as many investors fret about its potential demise. BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has signed a letter of intent that “contemplates” buying ...

Sep 24, 2013

Nippon Express tries halal route

Nippon Express Co. is seeking halal certification in Malaysia to start a food distribution business in the Muslim-majority nation. The major distributor said last week its local unit has already submitted an application to Kuala Lumpur and is seeking approval by next April. Halal ...