Rakuten Inc. raised its stake in publication company Oak Co. Ltd. to 51%, according to a May 25 news release.
The Japanese internet company, together with Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd. and publishing houses Kadokawa Corp., Kodansha Ltd., Shueisha Inc. and Shogakukan Inc., underwrote a third-party allocation of new shares to increase capital carried out by Oak.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Rakuten became Oak's largest shareholder in November 2014, when it acquired a 35.19% stake in the company.
With the increase, Rakuten now owns 51% of Oak, while DPN and the four publishing houses each hold 9.5%. OSS Co. Ltd. holds 1.6%.
Rakuten said it plans to use its membership base and IT infrastructure, the logistical infrastructure of DNP, the content of the four publishing houses and the bookstore network of Oak to tap opportunities in other business areas.
It will also make use of the Rakuten point card and Readee PLUS+ smartphone app to support sales in bookstores.
