Japan Rakuten buys US biggest rebate website ebates

Absrtact: September 10, Japanese e-commerce giant Lotte Company reported to the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tuesday, the company will be 1 billion U.S. dollars full cash acquisition of the largest rebate website Ebates. The deal will allow Rakuten to reach 2.5 million new paid subscribers.

September 10, Japanese e-commerce giant Lotte Company reported to the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tuesday, the company will be 1 billion U.S. dollars full cash acquisition of the largest rebate website Ebates. The deal will allow Rakuten to reach 2.5 million new paid subscribers.

Ebates, based in San Francisco, offers coupons and rebates to consumers who shop at cooperative retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy, and is now operating in South Korea, China, Russia, Canada and the US market. Over the past 12 months, the number of shoppers through the Ebates collaborative website has been 2.5 million.

Hiroshi Mikitani, Lotte's chief executive, said in an interview that Ebates was a very important strategic deal. Rakuten is seeking to reduce its reliance on the Japanese market by acquiring users from new global markets. The acquisition of Ebates will help Rakuten deploy its e-commerce strategy around the world. Rakuten has also invested in mobile apps and online video to strengthen its e-commerce business.

Mikitani in Tokyo in Tuesday, "the acquisition of Ebates does not just mean that Rakuten will operate its rebate site in the US market, but it also means that Rakuten will extend the model globally." "The ratio of Rakuten's international E-commerce turnover to the total turnover will rise from the current 6% to 16% per cent," he said. Mikitani said Rakuten's goal was to raise the ratio to 50% in about 2020 years. According to data from the Bloomberg Billionaires list, the three-wood Mikitani is currently the fourth largest in Japan, with a personal net worth of about 7 billion dollars.

Rakuten's shares fell 1.3% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tuesday and closed at 1254 yen, the lowest level since May 23. Rakuten's shares have fallen 20% per cent this year, underperforming the 0.2% per cent decline in the East Card index over the same period. Rakuten's share price hit its biggest one-day decline in three months after confirming the news that it would buy ebates this week, as investors fretted about the cost of the deal.

Rakuten said in its report that after the deal was completed, the company wanted to build ebates into the world's largest rebate site. Rakuten also said the current acquisition of the impact of the company's performance is still "difficult to predict."

Ebates currently has 2.5 million active users and more than 2,600 retailers. The company's net revenue for fiscal 2013 was $167.4 million, operating at $13.7 million trillion. Ebates users completed a 2.2 billion dollar turnover last year through the site. "Joining Rakuten will help us expand further in the US and international markets," said Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Ebates. ”

Massive acquisitions

Rakuten has completed 18 mergers and acquisitions since the beginning of last year, before acquiring Ebates. Rakuten said in June this year that it would embark on more large-scale mergers and acquisitions following the completion of its bond issuance efforts. This March, Rakuten spent 905 million dollars to buy the mobile voice and chat information service company Viber.

Prior to the acquisition of Ebates, Rakuten participated in three of Japan's largest e-commerce deals in 10 cases. As of June 30, Rakuten has about 1.7 trillion yen (about 16 billion US dollars) in cash and short-term investments. (Mingxuan)