British cellular operator Vodafone Group PLC will today launch an agreed takeover bid over Japan Telecom Co. through a wholly owned subsidiary and take full control of the nation's third-largest operator with up to a 66.7 percent stake, Vodafone announced Thursday in Tokyo.

Japan Telecom will remain listed as a Japanese company after the takeover, Chris Gent, Vodafone chief executive officer, said via satellite during a news conference held in Tokyo.

Japan Telecom's fixed-line business will not be separated or sold off as speculated, Gent said. A number of initiatives need to be taken to improve Japan Telecom's relatively poor business performance, he added.

The move was approved at board meetings of Japan Telecom and East Japan Railway Co. the three firms said at the joint news conference. With a 15.2 percent stake, JR East is Japan Telecom's second-largest shareholder.

Under the agreement, Vodafone International Holding B.V. will launch a tender offer to acquire up to 693,368 ordinary stocks, representing 21.7 percent of the outstanding shares of Japan Telecom. The deadline for the offer is Oct. 11.

Vodafone is now the largest shareholder in Japan Telecom, holding a 45 percent stake. It does not intend to increase its stake over 66.7 percent, the company said.

The offer price of 450,000 yen in cash per stock means a 29 yen premium will be added to Wednesday's closing price for Japan Telecom stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Japan Telecom Chairman Koichi Sakata and President Haruo Murakami are expected to be replaced. Vodafone said the two will remain in their current positions until a new president is nominated.

Vodafone's strategic focus is Japan Telecom's mobile unit. The "key objective" in this deal is to increase Vodafone's exposure to the Japanese cellular market and next-generation cellular phone business, Gent said.

During the news conference, JR East President Mutsutake Otsuka said the current business partnership with Japan Telecom will remain unchanged despite JR East's intention to sell at least 319,514 shares, representing around 10 percent of Japan Telecom's outstanding stocks. Japan Telecom supports the critical communications infrastructure of the railway operator.

NTT profit differenceNippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said Thursday its group net profit, when calculated under U.S. accounting standards, soared 78.5 percent to 533.82 billion yen in fiscal 2000.

The figure exceeds the 464.07 billion yen group net profit for the same period that was calculated under Japanese accounting rules on May 17. The figure reported in May marked a turnaround from a group net loss of 67.81 billion yen the previous year and was the result of record profits achieved by its mobile phone unit, NTT DoCoMo Inc.

Under U.S. accounting rules, NTT's group net profit per share increased to 33,465.58 yen from the previous year's 18,836.74 yen.

NTT's consolidated net profit before taxes shot up 89.4 percent to 1.305 trillion yen on a 9.1 percent gain in operating revenues to 11.328 trillion yen.

Vending machine tieup

Toyo Communication Equipment Co. and Glory Ltd. said Thursday they have agreed to tie up in the development and manufacturing of ticket vending machines from this fall.

The two companies said they will jointly design the machines under the Glory brand for such purposes as admission tickets, transport tickets and food tickets, with Toyo developing and manufacturing the machines.

With Glory's creative capabilities and nationwide network of maintenance and sales and Toyo's telecommunications technology, the two companies will complement each other, they said.

The two also plan to supply each other with peripherals related to vending machines.