Japanese online retailer Rakuten said on Monday it bought a stake of less than 10 percent in Chinese online discount provider Fanli, as it continues a push into overseas markets.
Rakuten – one of Japan’s biggest online retailers – is trying to use its stronghold in its domestic market to transform itself from a pure e-commerce firm into a one-stop-site for a global audience, along the lines of Amazon.com.
The Fanli investment comes about a month after Rakuten bought US eBook company OverDrive for about USD410 million. Other high-profile acquisitions in recent years have included free messaging application Viber for USD900 million and Canadian e-book reader Kobo for USD315 million.
(Source: CNBC)