Japan firms may restart talks on DVD format after mgmt changes - report
06.19.2005, 10:31 AM
TOKYO (AFX) - Sony Corp, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co and Toshiba Corp may restart talks aimed at working out a common DVD format after their respective shareholders meetings are held later this month, Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Sony and Matsushita have been promoting the Blu-ray Disc format, whereas Toshiba is seeking to make its HD DVD format the industry standard.
Earlier talks collapsed in mid-May, but the companies now hope it will become easier to negotiate once the top management teams at Sony and Toshiba, which are heavily committed to their respective formats, step down after the shareholders meetings, the newspaper said.
Sony's meeting is scheduled for June 22, Toshiba's for June 24 and Matsushita's for June 29. Sony Chairman and CEO Nobuyuki Idei will resign and be succeeded in both posts by Howard Stringer. In addition, Ryoji Chubachi will become the new president.
Toshiba Chairman Taizo Nishimuro will be replaced by current President Tadashi Okamura, with Senior Managing Director Atsutoshi Nishida being promoted to president.
The previous talks broke down because managing directors and lower-ranking officials from the three firms got bogged down in debate over which of the two formats excelled in technological terms, the newspaper noted.
Now the three manufacturers aim to send their senior officials to the negotiating table for a top-down approach, before moving on to another discussion on technological matters, the Nikkei quoted the sources as saying.
The new round of talks will likely be attended by Matsushita President Kunio Nakamura, Sony's Chubachi and Toshiba's Nishida. The view is gaining currency at the three firms that their top executives should meet first regardless of the outcome, the report said.
