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SoftBank Corp announced today that it has reached an agreement to merge with Z Holdings (the SoftBank subsidiary formerly known as Yahoo Japan) and Line Corp, in a move they hope will better position them against competitors. The merger, which was first reported by Nikkei last week, is expected to be completed in October 2020.
SoftBank and Naver, the owner of Line, will each hold 50% of a new holding company that will operate Line and Z Holdings. By uniting, SoftBank and Naver hope that they will better position search portal Yahoo Japan, Linemessaging app and their other businesses to compete against rivals from the United States and China.
In its announcement, SoftBank said &in the Internet market, overseas companies, especially those based in the United States and China, are overwhelmingly dominant, and even when comparing the size of operations, there is currently a big difference between such overseas companies and those in other Asian countries, other than China.&
Line is one of the most popular messaging apps in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, but has struggled to compete in other markets, despite offering a wide array of services that includes Line Pay, Line Taxi and Line Music. Yahoo Japan is one of the countrybiggest search engines, but it competes with Google and its other businesses, including e-commerce, are up against rivals like Rakuten and Alibaba.
Once merged, SoftBank and Naver say cooperation between their subsidiaries and investment portfolio companies will enable them to make more advances in artificial intelligence and other areas, including search, advertising and payment and financial services.
The merger would entail taking Line private by acquiring all outstanding Line shares, options and convertible bonds. The tender offer for Lineremaining shares will be 5,200 yen, a 13.41% premium over the closing price of Linecommon shares, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, on Nov. 13, before reports came out about the potential merger.
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Write comment (99 Comments)Ford unveiled Sunday ahead of the LA Auto Show the Mustang Mach-E, the highly anticipated all-electric crossover and the first vehicle to come out of Team Edison, the automakerdedicated electric vehicle organization.
In short: the Mustang Mach-E is different from any other Ford vehicle without ignoring its roots. Itundeniably a Mustang with its short nose and front overhang, headlights and muscular stance. But it also has a design suited for an electric vehicle as well as an all-new infotainment system and connected vehicle technology, plus a few other interesting and new details.
The moment is an important one for Ford, which has historically backed hybrid technology. It not only represents the biggest change for the Mustang in its 55 year history, itthe first product to come out of Ford$11 billion commitment to add 16 all-electric vehicles within its global portfolio of 40 electrified vehicles through 2022.
&We knew we had to do something different and something exciting and something only Ford could do,& Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford North America said at a press event prior to the Sunday unveiling.
This is not meant to be a compliance car — the types of vehicles produced only to meet stricter emissions rules in some states such as California, a key market for automakers. Although the project initially started as one.
Itmeant to be a vehicle that people get excited about; it must be fun to drive and have the performance that Mustang diehards expect. Itno small task and one some within the company viewed as a risk.
&I&ve driven it and ita rocket ship,& Ford Chairman Bill Ford said during the event Sunday. &This is a Mustang for a new generation, but I also think long-time Mustang fans like me will love it as well.&
And while there have been months of teasers and even one big leak, the unveiling Sunday provided fresh details of the vehicle.
Ford will offer five variants of the Mustang Mach-E, including a standard version called Select, a Premium trim, First Edition, California Route 1 and a GT Performance edition that is targeting a 0 to 60 miles per hour acceleration in the mid 3-second range and an estimated 342 kW (459 horsepower) and 830 Nm (612 pound-feet) of torque.
Starting at $43,895
The most affordable version of the Mach-E will be the &Select& trim with rear-wheel drive that starts at $43,895 before applying the $7,500 federal credit. However, &select& won&t be available until early 2021. The select rear-wheel view trim has 75.7 kwh battery pack with a target range of 230 miles. For another $2,700, the select trim is also available in all-wheel drive.
The limited First Edition will start at $59,900 and be available in extended-range all-wheel drive, with red painted brake calipers, metallic pedal covers, contrasting seat stitching and a scuff plate marked &First Edition.& The First Edition, , which is targeting 0-60 in the mid five-second range, has a 98.8 kwh battery that can travel 270 miles on a single charge.
The first edition and the premium trims will be the initial Mustang Mach-E vehicles available in fall 2020. The Premium version will start at $50,600.
The GT performance, which starts at $60,500, will be available in Spring 2021. The GT performance comes with a 98.8 kwh battery pack with targeted EPA estimate of 250 miles.
Ford has opened up a reservations page, where customers can put a $500 deposit down for any of the versions. A configurator that allows customers to design the version is also live.
Driving modes
Like other electric vehicles on the market, Ford has given the Mach-E three driving modes. Whisper is as one might expect, a quiet ride that has been tuned for a comfortable ride.&Engage& is the middle-of-the-road mode meant to provide what one Ford employee described as a &balanced& ride. For those who want the top performance and amped up drive, they can pick &Unbridled.& Each driving mode is tuned with specific steering controls as well as ambient lighting and sounds.
Drivers who pick Whisper or Engage will get blue lighting in the instrument cluster and other spots within the vehicle, while Unbridled has lighting with a copper hue and a propulsion sound.
Infotainment
The Mach-E is also getting a next-generation version of its Sync infotainment system. The 15.5-inch vertical screen sits in the center and is where much of the important yet non-essential for driving functions are located. Stuff like music as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. One feature that stands out is physical volume knob sits at the bottom of the vertical screen.
One interesting feature is that drivers of the Mach-E can run Apple Carplay or Android Auto while also displaying the native maps on the display.
Meanwhile, Ford kept the instrument cluster, where all of the important driving information is housed.
Charging
Ford is supplying all variants with a home charger that can plug into 120V or 240V outlets. Ford will also sell a faster home charger. The price has not yet been revealed.
The company is partnering with Amazon Home Services to help with installation.
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Read more: Ford unveils the Mustang Mach-E, an all-electric crossover with muscle car roots
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Ford unveiled Sunday the newest Mustang in its lineup that marks a number of firsts for the automaker. Not only is this the first all-electric Mustang, italso an SUV and the first vehicle to come out of Team Edison, Forddedicated electric vehicle organization.
Herea closer look at the vehicle inside and out.
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Read more: Every angle of Ford’s all-electric Mustang Mach-E
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Disneyshift to streaming is officially underway with this weeklaunch of Disney+ along with its flagship show, the Star Wars series &The Mandalorian.&
On the latest episode of the Original Content podcast, we discuss our initial reactions to the new streaming service.
It turns out that we had fairly different responses: Anthony was impressed by the breadth of the content library (nearly every Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars film, along with 30 seasons of &The Simpsons&), while Darrell was more interested in the original content. Jordan, meanwhile, found herself initially excited about the library, only to wonder how much time she really needs to spend watching her childhood favorites.
As for that original content, we also have a spoiler-free review of &The Mandalorian.& Disney is releasing episodes on a weekly basis, with two episodes live as of publication — but only one available when we recorded. And even though we&re in the age of extra-long streaming episodes, &The Mandalorian&‘s chapters only run 30 or 40 minutes each so far.
Still, we found plenty to talk about. After all, one reason for that brevity may be the visual richness of whaton-screen, with enough beautiful new worlds and spectacular battles to stand alongside any of the Star Wars feature films.
And the fast pace means we were never bored: The show introduces Pedro Pascal as a silent-but-deadly bounty hunter, along with Werner Herzog as a client who sends him after a mysterious target.
You can listen in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcastsor find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You can also send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)
And if you want to skip ahead, herehow the episode breaks down: 0:00 Intro 0:38 &The Morning Show& listener response 9:24 Disney+ discussion 37:34 &The Mandalorian& review (spoiler free)
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Read more: Original Content podcast: Disney’s ‘Mandalorian’ is never boring
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