Kobo today announced that the Canadian company will be acquired by Japan-based Rakuten, one of the world’s top 3 e-commerce companies by revenue. Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten, commented on 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.”
The announcement is expected to allow Kobo to not only strengthen its position in current markets but also expand to other countries and e-commerce categories.
Kobo launched its first tablet, the Kobo Vox, last month to complement its Kobo Touch e-reader and apps for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, and PCs.
The deal, worth US$315 million, is expected to close in early 2012, subject to regulatory and other approvals.