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November 8, 2011 10:05 pm EDT

Rakuten signs agreement to purchase Kobo

Rakuten, Inc. has just announced that it has signed a "definitive agreement" to "to acquire 100% of total issued and outstanding shares" of Kobo for a total of $315 milllion in cash. According to the press release, Rakuten is "one of the world's top 3 e-commerce companies by revenue." Just this February, Kobo's major American retail partner, Borders, filed for bankruptcy. Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani had this to say about the acquisition:

We are very excited about this next step. Kobo provides one of the world's most communal eBook reading experiences with its innovative integration of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter; while Rakuten offers Kobo unparalleled opportunities to extend its reach through some of the world's largest regional e-commerce companies, including Buy.com in the US, Tradoria in Germany, Rakuten Brazil, Rakuten Taiwan, Lekutian in China, TARAD in Thailand, and Rakuten Belanja Online in Indonesia, and of course, Rakuten Ichiba in Japan.

Rakuten has indicated that its latest acquisition will maintain its headquarters, management and employees following the final purchase. We'll be listening in on the conference call and will keep you posted on any more details. In the meantime, a full press release is available for your reading pleasure after the break.

Continue reading Rakuten signs agreement to purchase Kobo

Rakuten signs agreement to purchase Kobo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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