The following is a list of investments and acquisitions made by Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing company Rakuten.
Acquisitions
Date Company Business CountryValue (USD)Adjusted (USD)CommentsReferences 2002 MyTrip.net Online auction ——Merged with Rakuten Travel 2005 LinkShare Online auction ——Rebranded as Rakuten Marketing then as Rakuten Advertising.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 2010 PriceMinister Online retailer €200 million€ million 2010 Buy.com Online retailer US$250 million€ million"Japan's Rakuten to Acquire Buy.com", The Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2010 2011 Ikeda E-commerce ——Renamed Rakuten Brazil 2011 Tradoria E-commerce ——Rebranded as Rakuten Deutschland 2011 Play.com E-commerce £25 million£ millionConverted into the points-based loyalty program Rakuten.co.uk 2012 Kobo E-book reader US$315 millionUS$ millionConverted into the points-based loyalty program Rakuten.co.uk 2012 Wuaki.tv VOD service Rebranded to Rakuten TV in 2017 2012 Alpha Direct Services Online retail delivery Rakuten Acquires Alpha Direct Services, Rakuten corporate blog, 7 November 2012.Retrieved 27 December 2012 2012 Aquafadas Electronic publishing Rebranded as Rakuten DX in 2020 2013 Daily Grommet Online marketplace Rebranded as The GrommetOnline Marketplaces - Don’t call me ‘daily’: The Grommet drops the chronological element in its rebranding. Internet Retailer. Retrieved on 2013-09-21. 2013 Webgistix Service fulfillment Rakuten Acquires U.S.-based Logistics Company Webgistix | | Fulfilling eCommerce. Webgistix.com (2013-06-05). Retrieved on 2013-09-19. 2013 Viki Streaming media 2014 Viber Media Voice messaging US $905millionUS $ million 2014 DC Storm Marketing technology Acquired by Rakuten Marketing. 2014 Slice E-commerce E-commerce company that provides online shopping services and sells business intelligence based on digital commerce measurement. 2014 Ebates Cashback website US $952 millionUS $ millionChanged name to Rakuten RewardsMayumi Negishi, "Japan's Rakuten Set to Buy U.S. Shopping Website Ebates", The Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2014. 2015 OverDrive, Inc. Ebook wholesale distributor US $410 millionUS $ millionWholesale distributor of e-books and other digital content that serves libraries and retailers. Later purchased from Rakuten by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2020. 2016 Bitnet Cryptocurrency wallet US $410 millionUS $ millionUsed the assets to form Rakuten Blockchain Lab, a research facility that studies the blockchain.Jon Russell, "Rakuten buys struggling bitcoin startup to create a 'blockchain research lab, TechCrunch, August 18, 2016. 2018 Curbside Retail pickup 2020 Seiyu Group Group of supermarkets Joint venture with KKR, acquiring 85% ownership. 2020 Voyagin Online travel booking Name changed to Rakuten Travel Experiences. Had previously invested US$3.48 million. 2021 Altiostar Radio access network US$1 billionUS$ billionPrevious investor of US$114 million in 2019 and acquiring an additional 17% stake for US$45 million in 2020.
Investments
Date Company Business CountryValue (USD)Adjusted (USD)CommentsReferences 2011 Ozon.ru Online Retailer ——Unknown minority stake. Total of $100 million combined with other investors. 2012 Pinterest Social media service ——Led $100 million funding round with partners including Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, and others."Exclusive: Japan’s Rakuten Wins the Heart of Pinterest in $100M Funding Race With $1.5B Valuation", All things digital, 17 May 2012 2013 Carousell B2C and B2B marketplace —— Rakuten led a US$800,000 seed round of funding.Catherine Shu, "Marketplace App Carousell Raises $800K Seed Round Led By Rakuten", TechCrunch, November 13, 2013. 2015 Lyft Ridesharing company —— Led US$530 million funding round for 12% stake in company.Mike Isaac, "Hiroshi Mikitani, Rakuten Founder, Joins Lyft's Board", The New York Times, June 23, 2015. 2015 Cabify Ridesharing company —— Initial US$3 million investment in 2015 and additional US$92 million in 2016.Yoko Kubota, "Rakuten Raises Investment in Latin America Ride-Hailing App Cabify", The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2016. 2017 Careem Super-app —— US$30 million in financing for the company.Katie Roof, "PayPal leads $30 million round in Acorns investing app", TechCrunch, April 21, 2016. 2017 MetroResidences Real estate investing —— US$4.2 million.Jon Russell, "Rakuten invests $2.8M in 'Airbnb for business travel' startup MetroResidences", TechCrunch, April 10, 2017.
References
External links Rakuten.com corporate history