The news of the proposed acquisition of NCR Corp by AT&T Co was received positively in Japan, where NCR has a strong base in the banking market: the head of data processing systems development at Sumitomo Bank is reported to have said that its relationship with NCR dated from the 1960s and there was a strong sense of trust in NCR Japan’s technical and support capabilities; AT&T on its own trying to sell communications equipment would not get a good hearing, but if the approach came from NCR then it certainly would be considered; the merger of the two companies’ Japanese subsidiaries would be considered only following the merger of their parents, in about four to five months’ time, it was said.
