Talk:List of acquisitions by Rakuten

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Altiostar[edit]

No mention of Altiostar acquisition; add to list? 82.21.55.166 (talk) 82.21.55.166 (talk) 23:41, 27 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

DONE. Note this was a partial list and not everything is included. You are free to add any acquisition as long as there is a reliable source to verify.--CNMall41 (talk) 00:28, 3 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The rest of the list[edit]

Here is the rest of the acquisition list copied from the page Rakuten. Shortened up that section (which could likely be eliminated altogether and merged into history).

In September 2014, it was revealed that Rakuten would acquire US rebate site operator Ebates Inc. for approximately US$952 million to give the company more access to US consumers and help it grow abroad, as it takes on rivals such as Amazon.com and Alibaba. Ebates offers coupons and cash rebates to customers who shop at its more than 1,700 partner retailers.[1]

In March 2015, Rakuten announced the acquisition of OverDrive, Inc., a wholesale distributor of e-books and other digital content that serves libraries and retailers, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The acquisition price was $410 million in cash.[2] In 2019 private equity firm KKR announced it would be purchasing Overdrive from Rakuten. In June 2020 the acquisition was finalized.[3]

Since 2015, Rakuten has invested in several ride-hailing services. In March 2015, Rakuten led a $530 million round of venture financing for Lyft, spending $300 million for a 12% stake in the company.[4][5] In April 2016, Rakuten announced it would invest an additional $92 million in Cabify, which was founded in 2012 in Spain and is one of the largest ride-hailing services in Latin America. Rakuten previously invested $3 million in Cabify in 2015.[6] Rakuten led a $500 million Series E round of funding in Middle Eastern transportation startup Careem, which closed out in June 2017.[7]

In April 2016, Rakuten participated in a $30 million round of financing for the investing app Acorns.[8]

In August 2016, Rakuten confirmed that it had acquired the assets of bitcoin wallet startup Bitnet, with the assets to be used to create a research facility, Rakuten Blockchain Lab, based in Belfast that will explore the potential of the blockchain.[9]

In April 2017, Rakuten invested US$2.4 million in Singapore-based MetroResidences, which allows homeowners to rent their properties out to companies and corporate tenants.[10]

In January 2018, the Group purchased Asahi Fire and Marine from Japanese bank Nomura for an estimated 45 billion yen. This will be the first foray for Rakuten into the general insurance market, and Asahi will become a wholly-owned subsidiary. The company provides fire, automotive and accident insurance to consumer and corporate clients.[11]

In June 2018, Rakuten purchased Palo Alto-based retail pickup startup Curbside Inc.[12] In October 2018, CafeX Communications announced that Rakuten Communications Corp., the telecommunications company within Japan-based Rakuten Group, has launched "Connect Live", a cloud service powered by CafeX that enables business users to collaborate more easily in web browsers and mobile devices. Employees, customers and online visitors can simply click a link in a web browser to connect without needing to download new software or step through a sign-in process. Attendees can also join from mobile devices too.

In December 2019, Rakuten was reportedly selling OverDrive, Inc. to private equity investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The price of the sale was not disclosed, though Rakuten said it would recognize about $365.6 million in profit from the sale in the first quarter of 2020. OverDrive's purchase from Rakuten was engineered by KKR's Richard Sarnoff, a one-time executive at Random House who also was president of Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments until leaving for KKR in 2011.[13]

In February 2020, Rakuten Marketing was rebranded as Rakuten Advertising.[14] That month, Rakuten also sold its US$1.4 billion worth of stakes in various tech companies, including its entire shares in Pinterest.[15]

In November 2020, Rakuten teamed up with KKR to acquire 85% of Seiyu Group, the Japanese nationwide retail chain owned by Walmart.[16]

  • NOTE - All added to the page, just need updates of those missing. --CNMall41 (talk) 00:20, 3 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mnegishi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Rakuten to Buy OverDrive". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  3. ^ "Rakuten Sells Overdrive to Private Investment Firm". The Digital Reader. 2019-12-25. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  4. ^ Mike Isaac, "Hiroshi Mikitani, Rakuten Founder, Joins Lyft's Board", The New York Times, June 23, 2015.
  5. ^ Bruce Einhorn, "Japan's Rakuten is dreaming big", The Seattle Times, April 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Yoko Kubota, "Rakuten Raises Investment in Latin America Ride-Hailing App Cabify", The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Ingrid Lunden, "Uber rival Careem closes $500M raise at $1B+ valuation as Daimler steps in", TechCrunch, June 14, 2017.
  8. ^ Katie Roof, "PayPal leads $30 million round in Acorns investing app", TechCrunch, April 21, 2016.
  9. ^ Jon Russell, "Rakuten buys struggling bitcoin startup to create a 'blockchain research lab'", TechCrunch, August 18, 2016.
  10. ^ Jon Russell, "Rakuten invests $2.8M in 'Airbnb for business travel' startup MetroResidences", TechCrunch, April 10, 2017.
  11. ^ Rakuten buys Asahi Fire & Marine Insurance from Nomura Holdings for Y45 billion - Japan Times
  12. ^ Schubarth, Cromwell (8 June 2018). "Japanese e-commerce giant buys Palo Alto retail pickup startup". Silicon Valley Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. ^ Milliot, Jim (26 December 2019). "Equity Firm Agrees to Buy OverDrive". Publishers Weekly.
  14. ^ "Rakuten Launches Rakuten Advertising as a Premier Destination for Brands to Discover Customers and Engage Audiences". MarTech Series. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Rakuten sells entire Pinterest stake as it offloads tech holdings". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  16. ^ "KKR and Rakuten to buy 85% of Seiyu from Walmart". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2020-11-17.

CNMall41 (talk) 22:24, 2 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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