Rakuten’s purchase of messaging service Viber is just the latest signal of the Japanese e-commerce company’s ambitious global expansion plans—and could be a sign of quicker expansion in the future.
Just ask one of Rakuten’s previous targets, Wuaki.tv founder Jacinto Roca.
The Barcelona-based TV-and-movie streaming site, launched in 2010, offers an array of new Hollywood movies and local content both à-la-carte and in subscriptions similar to offerings from NetflixNFLX -1.46% and Amazon.
After Rakuten bought the site in 2012, it quickly jumped into the UK market. Now, pushed by Rakuten, it is exploring launches in France, Germany and Italy as early as this year, Mr. Roca said.
“Rakuten has been very aggressive on international expansion,” said Mr. Roca, a former venture capitalist who remains Wuaki.tv’s CEO. “They have been acquiring companies all over the globe.”
The quick expansion offers a window into Rakuten’s broader strategy of buying and then expanding a suite of overlapping businesses— from e-commerce sites to digital-content bazaars— that can build off each other.
In the UK for instance, Rakuten e-commerce acquisition play.com had millions of customers that could use their existing accounts to rent and buy movies from Wuaki, Mr. Roca said. Going forward, he notes that Rakuten has e-commerce sites in France and Germany, while its Kobo e-book business is present in Italy.
“Our plan is to be global as fast as possible, following the synergies with Rakuten group companies,” Mr. Roca said. “The intention is to move as fast as possible.”
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