Usen Corp. President Yasuhide Uno said Thursday he is ready to consider integrating his firm's management with Livedoor Co., 12.74 percent of whose shares he bought from Fuji Television Network Inc.
"Of course, the two companies should go on discussing a range of matters, including that possibility," Uno said when asked about the possible management integration.
Uno's 9.5 billion yen equity deal made him Livedoor's No. 2 shareholder, second only to arrested Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie, who holds 17.25 percent.
Uno expressed willingness to enhance mutual tieups by taking advantage of synergy effects that may stem from their strong business points.
"An excellent complementary relationship can be established" between Usen's Net-based video content distribution service and Livedoor's portal site and blog services, he said.
Uno is a friend of Horie, who has been held since his Jan. 23 arrest and subsequent indictment for allegedly spreading false financial information and for window-dressing financial statements.
The Usen chief said he will decide whether to sell his stake to Livedoor after seeing whether the tieup arrangement is workable.
He also said he will watch the tieup to see whether it would be appropriate for Usen executives to involve themselves in Livedoor management.
Uno said Usen will link its free GyaO video program distribution service to the Livedoor portal site and integrate its video content into Livedoor's blog service.
Usen also will use Livedoor's site to draw people to Usen's Web site.
Uno warned that Livedoor's reputation would continue to be undermined by Horie's equity links with the company unless it could lessen the founder's influence on management as top shareholder.
