The Japanese technology company Line and Yahoo Japan are finalizing the terms of a merger, as several Japanese media reported.
The details of the agreement are being negotiated by the conglomerate SoftBank, which owns 44% of Z Holdings, the firm in which Yahoo Japan’s operations are integrated, and the South Korean company Naver, which maintains 72% of Line.
According to published information, companies are studying the possibility of creating a joint venture, of which each one would be a 50% shareholder. That firm would own all the assets of Z Holdings and Line, which would become subsidiaries.
Line is the most used messaging application in Japan, with almost 82 million monthly active users. Together with Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, the app accumulates 164 million users. In recent years, the company has extended to other business segments, such as payments, purchases, take-away food or hotel and plane reservations.
On its side, Z Holdings owns about thirty digital and financial companies. Among the firms are Yahoo Japan, the main search engine in the country, the Y’s Insurance insurer, the venture capital company YJ Capital, the Japanese division of the Buzzfeed website or the software developers for companies Ikyu, Dynatech or Passrevo.
K. Tovar
Source: Bolsamanía
