Play.com, one of the UK's biggest e-tailers, has announced that it is to be bought by Rakuten, a Japanese company that specialises in e-commerce.
The surprise takeover was announced this morning with news that the two companies have entered into a 'definitive agreement', where Play.com will be acquired by Ratuken for £25 million (approx. 3.3 billion yen) in cold, hard cash.
Speaking about the sale, Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten, said: "The UK market is one of Europe's largest and most mature e-commerce markets.
"Play.com is not only a pioneer in the market, but also one of the UK's most successful e-commerce businesses.
"We aim to leverage our e-commerce strength and experience to further expand and develop Play.com's business model and channel its loyal user base, merchants, and deep product offerings into Rakuten's global e-commerce network."
Pressing Play
Play.com has 14 million registered users and has consistently been one of the most prolific e-commerce sites in the UK since its launch in 1998.
Although it has never reached the fame and fortune of Amazon – which seems to be doing a pretty decent job of reaching into other sectors such as web downloads and the Amazon Kindle – at £25 million, the company seems to be something of a steal for Rakuten.
The last time Play.com was in the news was for a data breach back in March, where the company urged all of its users to change their passwords after information was leaked online.
Via Market Watch
Your comments (4) Click to add a new comment
mrstillwater
September 21st 2011
4. Sorry, Scan for good customer service? You're kidding right?
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optimaximal
September 21st 2011
3. It almost definitely will mean prices rising, as Play.com currently enjoys Jersey's VAT/tax exemption laws by virtue of it being a Jersey-based company.
If companies house moves out of Jersey, it will likely fall foul of the revision to the law that booted all the supermarkets back out of the Channel Islands after they all set up satellite operations there.
Some explanation here - http://www.out-law.com/page-7425
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pitbull46
September 21st 2011
2. Yes i agree with you bradavon, i prefer to buy from play.com and Amazon UK, and scancomputers just for their great customer service and prices.
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bradavon
September 21st 2011
1. I hope this doesn't mean prices go up. Play are easily up there with Amazon.
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