Japanese online shopping giant Rakuten has added another company to its cart with the acquisition of Ebates, a cash-back shopping website. The $1 billion cash deal will give Rakuten 100 percent of Ebates voting stock. Founded in 1999, Ebates is a membership-based shopping portal headquartered in San Francisco that offers rebates and coupons from other large retailers such as Amazon.com and Walmart. Members can get deals on everything from patio furniture to hotel accommodation.
Rumors have been swirling around Japan’s Rakuten, which has been in discussions with rebate website operator Ebates.com, regarding a potential acquisition deal. That deal is now official, as the company announced today it has agreed to acquire Ebates for $1 billion. That’s roughly what Rakuten paid to acquire mobile messaging app Viber back in February. Rakuten is paying $1 billion in cash for the company, and will retain 100 percent of Ebates’ outstanding voting stock, as the deal completes. San Francisco-based Ebates offers a website that offers customers a way to earn cash back when shopping online at over 2,600 stores including Amazon.com, Macy’s, Best Buy, Home Depot and others. In 2013, 2.5 million members spent over $2.2 billion shopping through Ebates. With the acquisition, Japan’s largest e-commerce firm now has a new entry point into the U.S.’s growing e-commerce market, as well as a means to offer similar products, including online e-coupons, back home where they could complement Rakuten’s own online shopping loyalty program, Rakuten Super Points.
