Top officials of the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave have reached a basic agreement to merge the two professional baseball teams.
Masanori Yamaguchi, president of Kintetsu Corp., which owns the rights to the Buffaloes, said Sunday he reached a basic agreement in May with BlueWave owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi to move toward a merger.
On Monday, Takashi Koizumi, president of the BlueWave, confirmed this, telling a news conference in Kobe that the two sides will hold various negotiations in the coming weeks and months.
He added it would be pointless to proceed in drawing up a blueprint for the merger, such as the name and home stadium of the team after the amalgamation, without receiving the proper authorization. He said the two teams plan to follow necessary procedures after securing the understanding of all parties involved.