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Livedoor hopes Horie will reduce stake in company: president+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, March 24_(Kyodo) _ Livedoor Co. President Kozo Hiramatsu expressed hope Friday that former President Takafumi Horie, who has been in detention since his Jan. 23 arrest over alleged accounting fraud, will reduce his equity stake in the embattled company. "We hope he can reduce his stake in the future," said Hiramatsu, but adding that is "totally out of our control." Hiramatsu, who took up the current post after the arrest, also said, "I don't think he wants to use his authority as a major shareholder to influence our business." Livedoor founder Horie has a 17.25 percent stake in the once high-flying company, followed by Usen Corp. President Yasuhide Uno, who recently became its No. 2 shareholder after he personally bought Fuji Television Network Inc.'s 12.74 percent stake in the company. Speaking in English at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Hiramatsu, 60, said taking up the current post suddenly to rebuild Livedoor is "the toughest assignment I've ever taken." "When I face cameras, I automatically bow," the U.S.-educated president said jokingly. "One thing I can say with confidence is that now I have mastered the art of bowing," referring to the many news conferences he had to organize over the last two months to make apologies following the arrests of Horie and other former executives of the company. But Hiramatsu, who is likely to become representative director of Livedoor in June, said he has started to enjoy his new position as he has developed the feeling that the firm's new business alliance with Usen, Japan's leading cable broadcaster, will bear tangible fruit. Hiramatsu, who has worked for companies such as Sony Corp., AOL Japan Inc. and American Express International Inc., said he has become increasingly convinced that Usen was the right choice for Livedoor as the two companies share a "similar or the same corporate culture in many areas." He stressed that Livedoor has no plans "at the moment" to form any business partnerships with other companies in the field of financial services or other business sectors. The president said the two companies' future business plans have been discussed under three newly-formed subcommittees which are related to "media contents, institutional services and technology infrastructure." "The two management teams clicked instantly from the outset," when they had the first joint meeting of the three panels on Thursday, he said. "I personally felt as if we have been a partner for many years." "I'm still 60 years old. I'm still young and green. So is Livedoor," Hiramatsu said. "But this time we promise we (let) grow our company with integrity and enhance corporate governance and compliances." |