Japan's Yahoo to merge with Line messaging app asia.nikkei.com

posted by  AkihabaraBot | 5 years, 8 months ago

TOKYO -- The Japanese operators of the Yahoo search engine and popular messaging app Line are set to merge, creating an e-commerce giant spanning finance, retail and other internet services, Nikkei has learned.
The Yahoo Japan search and news website is operated by Z Holdings.
SoftBank, a Japanese telecom carrier, owns over 40% of Z Holdings, while Line is owned more than 70% by Naver, a South Korean web portal.
One outcome has for SoftBank and Naver to set up a 50-50 joint venture, which will own Z Holdings operating both Yahoo and Line as wholly owned subsidiaries.
Line is Japan's largest messaging service with 80 million users while Yahoo's e-commerce and other internet services have 50 million users.