Fuji Media Mulls Sale of Real Estate Business

Tokyo, Feb. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fuji Media Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that it will begin considering plans to introduce outside capital into its real estate business. The parent company of Fuji Television Network Inc. said it will not exclude “the possibility of a complete sale of the business.” Following the announcement, a group including an investment fund linked to Japanese activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami said it will withdraw its plan to increase its stake in Fuji Media up to 33.3 pct through a tender offer. Fuji Media plans to buy back its own shares worth up to 235 billion yen, including those held by Murakami’s side. Murakami’s side had been increasing pressure on Fuji Media since last year by buying more shares and demanding the separation of the real estate business. Fuji Media President Kenji Shimizu said at a press conference, “We will improve capital efficiency by combining growth in media and urban development businesses through the introduction of external capital.” He also hinted at a possible separation of the real estate business from the group’s consolidated accounts and a complete sale of the business. On the same day, Fuji Media announced an upward revision to its consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March. It is expected to log an operating loss of 7.2 billion yen, against the previous estimate of 10.5 billion yen in operating loss. For the period from April to December 2025, the company reported an operating loss of 4.8 billion yen. In the October-December quarter alone, however, it recorded an operating profit of 8.1 billion yen due to the recovery of revenue from commercials. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]