Rakuten acquires Play.com for £25 million
Japanese e-tailer buys 100 per cent of online store's stock
Rakuten, a Japanese online retail concern, has announced the purchase of 100 per cent of stock in Play.com for approximately £25 million, making it the third European e-commerce site acquired by the company.
Rakuten acquired French business PriceMinister in 2010 and German online retailer Tradoria in July of this year. As a whole, Rakuten operates online business in ten countries globally.
"The UK market is one of Europe's largest and most mature e-commerce markets. Play.com is not only a pioneer in the market, but also one of the UK's most successful e-commerce businesses," said Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani.
"We aim to leverage our e-commerce strength and experience to further expand and develop Play.com's business model and channel its loyal user base, merchants, and deep product offerings into Rakuten's global e-commerce network."
The UK has the largest e-commerce market in Europe, with a value expected to exceed $58.0 billion and 55 million users by 2014.
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Dan Pearson
Dan Pearson joined Eurogamer in 2006 before moving over to GamesIndustry in 2010. He covers all areas of the business and spends much of the rest of his time shouting at his cat and killing dwarves in poorly constructed fortresses.
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