Andre Yoskowitz
8 Nov 2011 21:14
Kobo E-reader, the company behind the, you guessed it, Kobo line of e-readers, has been purchased by Rakuten for $315 million in cash.
Rakuten is not a household name but is a massive e-commerce company in Japan and the owners of Buy.com in the U.S.
The acquisition will help the company in its push into downloadable media, beginning with e-books.
Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis says the Kobo devices have about 9 percent market share in the U.S. and will use the money to grow internationally. Kobo e-readers were available in Borders locations but the retailer has since gone bankrupt.
Adds Serbinis (via AllTD)
The U.S. is absolutely important. It's fundamental. We have millions of U.S. users today, and we plan to grow that substantially, and internationally represents a big opportunity as well.