Potential Takeover : Japan’s Rakuten seeking to buy Ebates
Since launching in Taiwan in 2008, Rakuten has expanded to more than 10 markets
TOKYO:
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is in the final stage of talks to buy Ebates, a US cash-back shopping service provider, and boost its business abroad, a report said Saturday. Rakuten is expected to acquire a majority stake in the San Francisco-based company at an estimated price of more than 100 billion yen ($950 million), the business daily Nikkei reported. Rakuten has a credit-card-linked reward points system in Japan to help retain its customer base. Lacking a similar setup in the US, it decided to acquire Ebates instead to lead shoppers looking for cash-back deals to the Rakuten virtual mall, the report said. Ebates operates in such markets as North America, China and South Korea, running websites which offer rebates and coupons for shopping from 1,700-plus partner retailers, including Amazon and eBay, according to Nikkei. Since launching its business in Taiwan in 2008, Rakuten has expanded to more than 10 markets.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2014.
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is in the final stage of talks to buy Ebates, a US cash-back shopping service provider, and boost its business abroad, a report said Saturday. Rakuten is expected to acquire a majority stake in the San Francisco-based company at an estimated price of more than 100 billion yen ($950 million), the business daily Nikkei reported. Rakuten has a credit-card-linked reward points system in Japan to help retain its customer base. Lacking a similar setup in the US, it decided to acquire Ebates instead to lead shoppers looking for cash-back deals to the Rakuten virtual mall, the report said. Ebates operates in such markets as North America, China and South Korea, running websites which offer rebates and coupons for shopping from 1,700-plus partner retailers, including Amazon and eBay, according to Nikkei. Since launching its business in Taiwan in 2008, Rakuten has expanded to more than 10 markets.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2014.