NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s largest wireless phone company which pioneered the popularity of the wireless Web, is preparing to announce the acquisition of 20 percent of AT&T Wireless, the wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Corp., according to published reports on Wednesday.
The acquisition, which is reportedly valued at up to $9 billion, would represent the Japanese company’s first major foray into the U.S. market. It would also be a huge step to broaden the acceptance of its i-mode wireless platform, which has been widely popular in Japan but faced resistence in the U.S. from backers of the wireless application protocol (WAP) standard.
An announcement is expected as early as next week.
DoCoMo has already announced a deal to buy the mobile phone assets of Hutchison Whampoa earlier this year.