The agreement, which was announced in March this year, has been renegotiated and revised terms will see Yahoo! Japan and eAccess set up a joint venture called Ymobile.
Yahoo! Japan, the country's largest internet portal, plans to boost its own mobile internet services by offering mobile services through the eAccess network in an effort to expand its mobile portfolio.
The agreement allows eAccess – which intends to complete a merger with data company Willcom in June this year – to remain a separate company to own and operate the network infrastructure.
"Yahoo! has come to the conclusion that instead of converting eAccess into its consolidated subsidiary and building infrastructure by itself, it would be better for Yahoo! and eAccess to collaborate by capitalising on the strengths of each company, whereby Yahoo! would be responsible for services and eAccess will be responsible for infrastructure," eAccess announced in a statement.
The dropped deal was part a reshuffling of assets within the SoftBank group’s portfolio, as SoftBank's owner also has a 42% stake in Yahoo! Japan.
Since the announcement in March, analysts have been speculating the sense in Yahoo! Japan acquiring a mobile network from SoftBank when both companies are part of the same group.
