Rakuten Inc. and Aeon Co., both suggested as potential companies to bail out critically endangered English conversation chain NOVA Corp., ruled out stepping in to save it Monday.
NOVA’s 40 billion yen in debts and the likelihood any savior would have to taken over them appears to be scaring away saviors.
“It’s extremely difficult even to think about taking this on,” Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said.
Aeon’s Takuya Okada was equally bearish about NOVA.
“We haven’t been asked to do anything and we haven’t done anything,” he said.
NOVA filed for protection from creditors last Friday and is currently in the hands of receivers.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071029p2a00m0na056000c.html