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NTT, AT&T Wireless in talks
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November 22, 2000: 10:15 a.m. ET
NTT DoCoMo, Japan's No.1 mobile phone firm, mulls 20% stake in U.S. firm
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Japan's top mobile phone company, NTT DoCoMo, is close to taking a minority stake in AT&T Wireless Group Inc., a source close to the situation said Wednesday.
NTT DoCoMo is in the final stages of negotiations with AT&T Wireless for the Japanese mobile phone company to take up to 20 percent of the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, the source said.
NTT could pay as much as $9 billion for the stake, which could be announced as early as next week, sources told CNNfn. However, the deal, first reported in late October, still could fall apart. AT&T Wireless's high asking price was thought to be the biggest obstacle to the purchase when it was first reported in October, published reports said.
Both AT&T and NTT DoCoMo declined to comment.
 DoCoMo has been in discussions with AT&T Wireless for months as well as with Cingular, the wireless joint venture formed by SBC Communications (SBC: Research, Estimates) and Bell South Corp. (BLS: Research, Estimates), the Wall Street Journal online said, which first reported the talks. In fact, NTT's interest in Cingular has been rumored since August, published reports said.
AT&T Wireless (AWE: Research, Estimates), a tracking stock, will be convert into an independent company as part of AT&T's plan to split into four businesses. A stake in AT&T Wireless reportedly would help NTT DoCoMo crack the U.S. market and help it expand globally.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Japan's dominant phone service provider, is majority owner of DoCoMo. NTT is majority owned by the Japan government.
AT&T Wireless shares fell 31 cents to $20.19, SBC dropped 31 cents to $57.25, and BLS lost 38 cents to $41.31 in early morning trading Wednesday. 
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