Leaving the NTT group and allying with KDDI (2023)

From receiver of capital to designer of it

The core of this decision can be seen in how IIJ’s position shifted — from a receiver of capital to a designer of it. Whereas the 2003 capital acceptance was an unavoidable choice forced by a collapse, the 2023 reshaping was a company that had recovered its financial autonomy choosing, for itself, a capital structure that leaned toward no camp. The path of reclaiming, in order, first the independence of the business and then the independence of capital converged here into one.

Even so, how far a design equidistant from NTT and KDDI translates into strength as a neutral operator depends on the substance of the collaboration to come. A structure holding two equal top shareholders makes it easy to widen dealings with both, yet carries a balance in which it is hard to step deeply toward either. For a company placing government demand and sovereign cloud at the centre of its next growth, how it turns a capital structure that faces the two giants equally to advantage is what will be asked of it from here.