By Kosaku Narioka


SoftBank Corp. plans to buy an industrial property in Osaka for more than $600 million to set up a big data center for artificial-intelligence applications.

The Japanese telecom unit of SoftBank Group said Friday that it will acquire part of Sharp Corp.'s former display-making plant in Osaka for about 100 billion yen, equivalent to $635.2 million. It aims to start AI data-center operations in 2026.

Sharp had sought other business uses for the site after announcing the end of display production at the Sakai, Osaka plant earlier this year due to weak demand.

Domestic telecom rival KDDI also plans to set up an AI data center at the former plant site. KDDI said earlier this month that it would acquire the land, buildings, and electrical facilities from Sharp.

KDDI said it aimed to bring the data center to full-scale operation by the end of March 2026.


Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-20-24 0418ET