Softbank Corp finally confirmed that it is in talks to take over Ziff-Davis Publishing Corp. Japan’s largest personal computer software distributor, bought Ziff’s trade show division for just over $200m last year and was very disappointed to be pipped by buyout merchants Forstmann-Little Inc in the bidding for the heart and soul of the Ziff publishing empire – Forstmann-Little paid $1,400m for the publishing arm and said it would treat the business as a long-term investment – but the appreciation of the yen since then is seen as enabling Softbank to make Ted Forstmann an offer he can’t refuse.
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