3 Japanese Firms Merge to Rival NT

Three Japanese telecommunications companies said they plan to combine in a deal that would create Japan’s second-largest phone company after Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. The merger comes amid deregulation of Japan’s telecommunications industry. The three companies--KDD Corp., IDO Corp. and DDI Corp, an affiliate of electrical machinery maker Kyocera Corp.--said they will combine operations effective Oct. 1. DDI would be the surviving entity, which would be formed in a stock swap. The new company would provide services ranging from international and domestic calls to cellular phones, including mobile phones that offer voice and data communications and Internet access.