Rakuten to boost mobile activities with $2.2 billion capital injection
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Japanese e-commerce and tech company Rakuten has sold a 13% share amounting to $2.2 billion to Japan Post, Tencent and Walmart. Japan Post will invest $1.4 billion into Rakuten, thereby owning 8.3% of the company’s total share to become its fourth-largest investor. Tencent will invest $0.6 billion to own 3.6% of the company’s total share, while Walmart will invest $0.15 billion to own a 0.9% share.
Japan Post’s investment in Rakuten is aimed at strengthening ties between the two Groups and maximizing synergies by leveraging the resources and expertise of both Groups. The alliance will branch into mobile, logistics and digital transformation, with consideration to enter into financial services and e-commerce together.
There are plans to create shared logistics centers, seeking new collaborations and initiatives between the pair to expand usage of Rakuten Fulfillment Centers and Japan Post’s “Yu-Pack” parcels.
For the mobile sector, Rakuten will tap onto Japan Post’s nationwide chain of post offices to create customer counters to accept new signup applications for Rakuten Mobile’s marketing campaigns. Meanwhile, Rakuten Group will dispatch specialists to Japan Post to bolster its digital transformation plans.
Last week, Rakuten Mobile announced that the total number of applications for its UN-LIMIT service plan launched on 8 April 2020 has surpassed 3 million. This week, Rakuten Mobile announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Airspan Networks for the latter to offer its complete vRAN hardware and software platform OpenRANGE on the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).
Questions & Answers
Q.Which companies have invested in Rakuten and what percentage of the company do they now own?
Which companies have invested in Rakuten and what percentage of the company do they now own?
Japan Post now owns 8.3% of Rakuten after investing $1.4 billion. Tencent has a 3.6% share from a $0.6 billion investment, and Walmart holds 0.9% after contributing $0.15 billion.
Q.What are the main areas of collaboration planned between Rakuten and Japan Post following the investment?
What are the main areas of collaboration planned between Rakuten and Japan Post following the investment?
Their alliance will focus on mobile, logistics, and digital transformation, with consideration for financial services and e-commerce. They plan to create shared logistics centres and expand usage of existing fulfilment services.
Q.How will Rakuten's mobile business benefit from the partnership with Japan Post?
How will Rakuten's mobile business benefit from the partnership with Japan Post?
Rakuten will utilise Japan Post's network of post offices to set up customer counters. These counters will accept new signup applications for Rakuten Mobile's marketing campaigns, expanding its reach.
Q.What progress has Rakuten Mobile made with its UN-LIMIT service plan?
What progress has Rakuten Mobile made with its UN-LIMIT service plan?
Rakuten Mobile recently announced that its UN-LIMIT service plan, launched in April 2020, has now surpassed three million applications. This indicates significant customer uptake for the service.
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