\tSoftBank Corp confirmed local reports stating it was in talks about a possible merger between its subsidiary Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, and mobile messaging platform operator Line.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued today (14 November), the Japanese mobile operator said while talks were ongoing, no decision had been made.<\/p>\n
Atul Goyal, equity analyst at Jefferies, commented in a research note a merger would benefit both companies, as the consolidation of Line (with 80 million active users) and Z Holding (50 million) would give them strong negotiating power with advertisers, and likely allow cross-selling opportunities.<\/p>\n
While there is fair bit of overlap, he noted the target market and demographic profile of the two companies is quite different.<\/p>\n
On the digital payment side, Goyal believes Softbank’s PayPay is extremely well positioned, so a merger would allow both companies to \u201cstop bleeding, which will be particularly good for Line” and its parent Naver.<\/p>\n
Goyal added that a combined entity would have access to more data, allowing it to better target users for sales and strengthening its competitive position against Rakuten.<\/p>\n
With Rakuten in the process of becoming a full mobile operator [1] in Japan, SoftBank is expanding into retail, announcing recently Z Holdings will acquire online fashion retailer Zozo.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/home-banner\/rakuten-mobile-postpones-launch\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SoftBank Corp confirmed local reports stating it was in talks about a possible merger between …<\/p>\n
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