List of acquisitions by Rakuten explained

The following is a list of investments and acquisitions made by Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing company Rakuten.

Acquisitions

DateCompanyBusinessCountryValue (USD)CommentsReferences
2002MyTrip.netOnline auction—Merged with Rakuten Travel
2005LinkShareOnline auction—Rebranded as Rakuten Marketing then as Rakuten Advertising.[1] [2]
2010PriceMinisterOnline retailer€200 million[3]
2010Buy.comOnline retailerUS$250 million[4]
2011IkedaE-commerce—Renamed Rakuten Brazil
2011TradoriaE-commerce—Rebranded as Rakuten Deutschland
2011Play.comE-commerce£25 millionConverted into the points-based loyalty program Rakuten.co.uk[5]
2012KoboE-book readerUS$315 millionConverted into the points-based loyalty program Rakuten.co.uk[6]
2012Wuaki.tvVOD serviceRebranded to Rakuten TV in 2017
2012Alpha Direct ServicesOnline retail delivery [7]
2012AquafadasRebranded as Rakuten DX in 2020[8] [9]
2013Daily GrommetOnline marketplaceRebranded as The Grommet[10] [11]
2013WebgistixService fulfillment[12]
2013VikiStreaming media[13]
2014Viber MediaVoice messagingUS $905million[14]
2014DC StormMarketing technologyAcquired by Rakuten Marketing.[15]
2014SliceE-commerceE-commerce company that provides online shopping services and sells business intelligence based on digital commerce measurement. [16]
2014EbatesCashback websiteUS $952 millionChanged name to Rakuten Rewards[17]
2015OverDrive, Inc.Ebook wholesale distributorUS $410 millionWholesale distributor of e-books and other digital content that serves libraries and retailers. Later purchased from Rakuten by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2020.[18] [19]
2016BitnetCryptocurrency walletUS $410 millionUsed the assets to form Rakuten Blockhain Lab, a research facility that studies the blockchain.[20]
2018CurbsideRetail pickup[21]
2020Seiyu GroupGroup of supermarketsJoint venture with KKR, acquiring 85% ownership. [22]
2020VoyaginOnline travel bookingName changed to Rakuten Travel Experiences. Had previously invested US$3.48 million.[23]
2021AltiostarRadio access networkUS$1 billionPrevious investor of US$114 million in 2019 and acquiring an additional 17% stake for US$45 million in 2020.[24] [25]

Investments

DateCompanyBusinessCountryValue (USD)CommentsReferences
2011Ozon.ruOnline Retailer—Unknown minority stake. Total of $100 million combined with other investors. [26]
2012PinterestSocial media service—Led $100 million funding round with partners including Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, and others.[27]
2013CarousellB2C and B2B marketplace—Rakuten led a US$800,000 seed round of funding.[28]
2015LyftRidesharing company—Led US$530 million funding round for 12% stake in company.[29]
2015CabifyRidesharing company—Initial US$3 million investment in 2015 and additional US$92 million in 2016.[30]
2017CareemSuper-app—US$30 million in financing for the company.[31]
2017MetroResidencesReal estate investing—US$4.2 million.[32]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rakuten Launches Rakuten Advertising as a Premier Destination for Brands to Discover Customers and Engage Audiences . MarTech Series . 30 December 2020 . 12 February 2020.
  2. Toto, Serkan, "Japan's Rakuten: Can The Biggest E-Commerce Site You Never Heard Of Become a Threat for Amazon Globally?", TechCrunch, Sunday, July 5th, 2009
  3. Web site: Wauters . Robin . Rakuten to acquire France's PriceMinister for approximately €200 million . TechCrunch (Eu.techcrunch.com) . 2010-06-17 . 2011-10-04.
  4. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703559004575255951407857036?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_business "Japan's Rakuten to Acquire Buy.com"
  5. Web site: Published Wednesday, Sep 21 2011, 12:43 BST . Play.com bought by Japanese firm Rakuten for £25m — Media News . Digital Spy . 2011-09-21 . 2011-10-04.
  6. News: $315-million Kobo takeover deal a windfall for Indigo. The Globe and Mail. 8 November 2011 . Strauss . Marina .
  7. http://blog.freecause.com/ Rakuten Acquires Alpha Direct Services, Rakuten corporate blog, 7 November 2012
  8. Web site: Kobo Acquires Aquafadas to bring more Comics and Kids Books into Digital Form. goodereader.com. 2012-10-10. 2015-06-01.
  9. Web site: Rakuten Launches 'Rakuten DX' to Drive Creativity and Innovation in Digital Experiences Ahead of Expected App Boom. 2020-11-24. MarTech Series. 23 November 2020.
  10. News: Japan's Rakuten Ups Its Stake in the Rebranded Grommet . Kara . Swisher . Kara Swisher . . 2013-05-14 . 2013-09-19.
  11. http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/05/14/grommet-drops-daily-its-brand Online Marketplaces - Don’t call me ‘daily’: The Grommet drops the chronological element in its rebranding
  12. http://www.webgistix.com/rakuten-acquires-u-s-based-logistics-company-webgistix/ Rakuten Acquires U.S.-based Logistics Company Webgistix | | Fulfilling eCommerce
  13. News: Rakuten extends its focus on entertainment after buying Singapore-based video service Viki . The Next Web . September 2, 2013.
  14. News: Japanese Internet Giant Rakuten Acquires Viber For $900M . TechCrunch . February 13, 2014 . February 14, 2014.
  15. News: Rakuten Marketing Acquires DC Storm for Omni-channel Attribution, Measurement and Tag Management . https://web.archive.org/web/20140601200450/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/29/ny-rakuten-marketing-idUSnBw295314a+100+BSW20140529 . dead . June 1, 2014 . Reuters. May 29, 2014 . June 4, 2014.
  16. News: Japan's Rakuten Buys Startup as It Mulls U.S. Entry . Greg . Bensinger . . November 11, 2014 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112826/http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/08/08/japans-rakuten-buys-startup-as-it-mulls-u-s-entry/ . 2016-03-04 .
  17. Mayumi Negishi, "Japan's Rakuten Set to Buy U.S. Shopping Website Ebates", The Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2014.
  18. Web site: 2019-12-25. Rakuten Sells Overdrive to Private Investment Firm. 2021-04-09. The Digital Reader. en-US.
  19. News: Rakuten to Buy OverDrive. PublishersWeekly.com. 2017-02-26. en.
  20. Jon Russell, "Rakuten buys struggling bitcoin startup to create a 'blockchain research lab, TechCrunch, August 18, 2016.
  21. News: Japanese e-commerce giant buys Palo Alto retail pickup startup. Schubarth. Cromwell. 8 June 2018. Silicon Valley Business Journal. 14 June 2018. American City Business Journals.
  22. Web site: KKR and Rakuten to buy 85% of Seiyu from Walmart. 2020-11-17. Nikkei Asia. en-GB.
  23. News: Lee . Terence . Rakuten buys tour marketplace Voyagin to gear up for 2020 Tokyo Olympics travel bonanza . 2 December 2023 . Tech in Asia . 1 July 2015.
  24. News: Le Maistre . Ray . Rakuten acquires Altiostar at $1B+ valuation . 2 December 2023 . Televcom TC . 4 August 2021.
  25. News: Phadnis . Shilpa . After acquisition by Rakuten, Altiostar to further expand in India . 2 December 2023 . Times of India . 11 August 2021.
  26. Web site: 2011-09-08 . Internet Retailer Ozon.ru Gets Record $100M Investment . 2020-09-07 . The Moscow Times . en.
  27. http://allthingsd.com/20120516/exclusive-japans-rakuten-wins-the-heart-of-pinterest-founder-in-funding-race/ "Exclusive: Japan’s Rakuten Wins the Heart of Pinterest in $100M Funding Race With $1.5B Valuation"
  28. Catherine Shu, "Marketplace App Carousell Raises $800K Seed Round Led By Rakuten", TechCrunch, November 13, 2013.
  29. Mike Isaac, "Hiroshi Mikitani, Rakuten Founder, Joins Lyft's Board", The New York Times, June 23, 2015.
  30. Yoko Kubota, "Rakuten Raises Investment in Latin America Ride-Hailing App Cabify", The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2016.
  31. Katie Roof, "PayPal leads $30 million round in Acorns investing app", TechCrunch, April 21, 2016.
  32. Jon Russell, "Rakuten invests $2.8M in 'Airbnb for business travel' startup MetroResidences", TechCrunch, April 10, 2017.

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