Willcom, the Japanese mobile phone company majority owned by the Carlyle Group, has filed for bankruptcy protection with debts of 206 billion yen (US$2.3billion). Japan’s fourth-largest telecoms operator, which is 60 percent owned by Carlyle, is the second high-profile bankruptcy filing in Japan this year. Reports say the company confirmed that it is seeking assistance from the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan, and is in discussions with rival mobile network, Softbank Cop over a financial bailout. The company has been burdened with heavy debts after upgrading its network to support high-speed data in a market that is now dominated by the big-three cellular service providers. The company was the sole operator of the country’s last remaining PHS based mobile network, and has struggled to attract subscribers since it filed for financial protection last September. The company ended last year with 4.24 million subscribers and will continue to provide service while it works out a financial restructuring plan. The company was formerly an arm of the country’s second-largest phone network, KDDI but was spun off to Kyocera and Carlyle in 2004 for 220 billion yen. KDDI retained a 10% stake, with Kyocera taking 30%.
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