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Rakuten Takes On Yahoo With LinkShare Buy
By David Utter
Expert Author
Article Date: 2005-09-07
Japanese portal Rakuten has picked up the affiliate marketing firm LinkShare in an all-cash deal.
A big player in Japan's portal market may be ready to bring the battle to Yahoo in the United States. MediaPost reports that the e-commerce and portal firm Rakuten may be moving into the US market. Yahoo competes heavily with Rakuten in Asia.
A press release notes the high brand recognition Tokyo-based Rakuten, a word for ‘optimism', enjoys in its home country. Privately held LinkShare gives the Japanese firm entrée to the American online advertising market.
"LinkShare's performance-based marketing expertise across affiliate, search, and e-mail capabilities provides Rakuten with an excellent first step to launch our U.S. operations and continue our international expansion." said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten, in the release.
The New York-based affiliate marketer lists Dell, Avon, and American Express among its clients. "Our merchants and our affiliates will benefit because taking the network worldwide can only increase volume, which means growth for everyone," LinkShare CEO/Chairman Stephen D. Messer said.
About the Author:
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.
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