It’s not all about online content distribution, you know?
Play.com, the UK site that sells games, movies, music and more on ye olde plastic discs, is selling to Rakuten of Japan for £25 ($39.29) million.
Rakuten, Japan’s largest online retailer, wants to expand globally. It has already bought France’s PriceMinister in 2010 and Germany’s Tradoria this July. Play.com is the latest piece of the puzzle.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani (in the release): “The UK market is one of Europe’s largest and most mature e-commerce markets. Play.com is not only a pioneer in the market, but also one of the UK’s most successful e-commerce businesses. We aim to leverage our e-commerce strength and experience to further expand and develop Play.com’s business model and channel its loyal user base, merchants, and deep product offerings into Rakuten’s global e-commerce network.”
The deal is due to close early in October.