Takafumi Horie

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Takafumi Horie ( Japanese 堀 江 貴 文 , Horie Takafumi ; born October 29, 1972 in Yame , Fukuoka ) is a Japanese entrepreneur and former CEO of Livedoor .

Takafumi Horie

He grew up in the average Japanese salaryman household. As a student at Tokyo University , enrolled in the literature department, he founded a web design company with friends under the name Livin 'on the Edge in 1995 and dropped out. He built Livin 'on the Edge through numerous company acquisitions to what is now Livedoor Co. Ltd. out.

Hory's unconventional business methods met with strong rejection in the conservative world of the Japanese media industry. He hit the headlines in 2005 when he acquired large stakes in after-hours trading in Nippon Broadcasting Systems (NBS) radio station . This in turn was involved through cross-shareholdings in the Fuji Sankei Group , a conservative Japanese media empire to which Fuji TV and the Sankei Shimbun also belong. The subsequent takeover battle finally ended in Livedoor's competitor Softbank joining Fuji TV. For the first time, this created economic ties between the “old” and “new” media in Japan.

However, the acquisitions also showed that the legislation in Japan was insufficient for such cases, and so Japan subsequently introduced mergers and acquisitions laws based on the American model.

His unconventional demeanor made Horie a star among the younger generation. He renounced suit and tie, the salaryman's uniform, and used a casual youthful language in public. His popularity made him a regular guest on daily celebrity shows on Japanese television . He was nicknamed Horiemon , after the robotic cat Doraemon .

On August 19, 2005, he made headlines again with his announcement that he would run in the Japanese general election with the support of the LDP leadership as an independent candidate in the sixth constituency in Hiroshima . He was thus one of Koizumi's "assassin candidates" who were brought into position against political opponents within the LDP. His opponent, Shizuka Kamei , won the constituency with just 110,979 votes to 84,433.

On January 18, 2006, the offices of Livedoor and Hories residence were raided on allegations of stock fraud and money laundering. Livedoor's shares immediately fell 14.4% and the volume of sell orders forced the Tokyo Stock Exchange to close 20 minutes early for the first time in its history. The Nikkei index fell 465 points, the highest loss in 2 years.

Regardless of how valid the allegations are, numerous newspaper comments saw primarily political reasons behind the action: the establishment's response to its challenge.

Horie was arrested on January 23, 2006, and on January 24 he announced his resignation from the post of CEO at Livedoor (he remains the largest shareholder with 17% of the shares). He was released on April 27 on bail of 300 million yen on condition that he had no further contact with Livedoor or company employees. Horie announced that he has no plans to get back involved with the company. He continues to be charged with publishing falsified annual reports and providing false information to investors, but maintains his innocence. On March 15, 2007, a Tokyo court sentenced Takafumi Horie to two and a half years in prison for violating the Securities Act. The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the sentence on July 25, 2008, contrary to Hory's appeal against his conviction for fraudulent accounting. In 2006, a flood of sales requests had completely overwhelmed the stock exchange computer system. With this guilty verdict, an example was made in the process, which was also highly regarded internationally, since corporate managers in Japan usually get away with suspended sentences for commercial offenses.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ FT - Swoop on Livedoor and Horie's home
  2. ↑ FT - Tokyo halts trading as system overloaded
  3. ↑ FT - Livedoor probe sparks TSE case
  4. ↑ Asahi Shimbun - Horie out on bail; no further charges. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006 ; Retrieved April 21, 2014 .
  5. ^ Tokyo court rejects Livedoor tycoon's appeal - July 25, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Horie, Takafumi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 堀 江 貴 文 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese entrepreneur and former CEO of Livedoor
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH Yame , Japan