Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is in talks with five candidates to form a capital tie-up, it was learned Thursday. The five include major Japanese telecommunications carrier SoftBank Corp. and investment fund Japan Industrial Partners Inc., as well as U.S. investment firm Blackstone Inc., investment fund KKR and asset management firm BlackRock. TEPCO selected the five candidates from among those who had applied by the end of March for a capital tie-up, which is a pillar of the company's new business reconstruction plan, announced in January. Negotiations will be led by TEPCO's new chairman, Keisuke Yokoo, who took office on Thursday. Yokoo hails from the financial industry. For TEPCO, the main purpose of a capital tie-up is to secure funds for growth investments and to reduce the financial burden of compensating for the March 2011 accident at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan and decommissioning the tsunami-stricken plant. TEPCO also plans to leverage business and capital partnerships to meet growing electricity demand from data centers for artificial intelligence and to develop carbon-free power sources. On Wednesday, SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son revealed that SoftBank, a group affiliate, has made the shortlist as a key candidate to possibly partner with TEPCO. Son expressed a willingness to "boost electricity generation and bring AI data centers to Japan." As TEPCO has nuclear power plants and subsidiaries involved in critical infrastructure projects, such as power transmission and distribution, the company may issue a veto-wielding golden share to the Japanese government if it receives foreign capital. At a press conference on June 2, Yokoo said, "We won't rule out (foreign partners) just because they are foreign companies." TEPCO is expected to consider a partnership framework over the next year or so while taking the government's position into account. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]