Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
Look Out Amazon, Here Comes...Rakuten?
Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced on Tuesday it is acquiring Ebates for $1 billion.
The acquisition, which Rakuten hinted at last week, is part of the Japanese company’s push to grow its base beyond its domestic market and hopefully, become a global player. Having made some $1.2 billion acquisitions to date along these lines, this is Rakuten’s most ambitious move to date.
However, investors are dubious that the company can absorb yet another foreign acquisition, much less one the size of Ebates, despite Rakuten’s strong cash position.
Then there is the ever-present Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market in the U.S. Few believe it will falter in the face of Chinese giant Alibaba, much less a Rakuten-Ebates combo.
Rakuten Goes Forth
Not surprisingly, Rakuten says it is undaunted. For starters, it has assembled a very interesting mix of acquisitions. There is messaging app Viber, which it purchased for $900 million in February, the Canadian ebook offering Kobo, Spanish video service Wuaki.tv, Viki, a digital content platform and Buy.com.
Now it has picked up Ebates.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/09/...ere-comes-rakuten/
The operator’s EBITDA in December hit JPY2.3 billion ($15.1 million). The figure for the full-year dropped by JPY98.7 billion from a year ago to a loss of JPY53.8 billion.
Mikitani attributed the move to profit to strong subscriber acquisition and increased ARPU due to improved network quality, as well as ongoing cost control and rising ad revenue.
He added Rakuten Mobile will be “a driving force” for the group’s future growth, accounting for 34.4 per cent of consolidated revenue growth in 2024.
Mikitani noted it covered annual capital needs without relying on new debt for the group. Capex fell from JPY169 billion in 2023 to JPY81 billion last year. The company noted some investments were postponed to 2025, with the outlay forecast to climb to JPY150 billion.
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/rakuten/...%28%2415.1%2520million%29.
Robert Clark, Contributing Editor
February 14, 2025
Rakuten Mobile is aiming for full-year EBITDA profitability this year after eking out its first positive monthly result.
The unit recorded positive EBITDA of 100 million Japanese yen (US$650,000) in December, its first since it started service in April 2020.
It hiked full-year revenue by 26% to JPY284 billion ($1.9 billion) and shaved its operating loss by more than a quarter, but still posted a deficit of JPY216 billion ($1.4 billion).
It achieved JPY2.3 billion ($15.1 million) positive EBITDA in December, with full-year revenue up 21% to JPY441 billion ($2.9 billion).
Rakuten says after years of borrowing to grow the mobile business it achieved self-funding last year and is now able to keep it afloat without taking on more debt.
Its mobile unit has some hefty liabilities which, of course, aren't reflected in EBITDA numbers. It reported outstanding debt of JPY1.13 trillion ($7.4 billion) at December 31, along with JPY207 billion ($1.4 billion) in lease obligations and JPY328 billion in other liabilities. Gross assets totaled JPY1.92 trillion ($12.6 billion).
https://www.lightreading.com/finance/...first-ebitda-profit-this-year
February 13, 2025
Kyivstar made progress on its open RAN ambitions, announcing the launch of a laboratory test in Ukraine in partnership with Rakuten Symphony as part of ongoing efforts to rebuild the country’s digital infrastructure.
Veon-owned Kyivstar stated it will test Rakuten Symphony’s cloud-native RAN software in a controlled laboratory environment.
The companies explained the testing process is intended to shape Ukraine’s long-term digital infrastructure strategy, as Kyivstar continues its push for an open and robust mobile network for its 24 million subscribers.
The development comes after Veon and Rakuten Symphony signed an agreement in 2023 to jointly rebuild Ukraine’s telecoms infrastructure in the aftermath of its ongoing war with Russia. The companies pledged to invest in digital services and open RAN in a commitment to re-establish network infrastructure in the country.
Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of Veon, described the testing phase as a “critical milestone” in the digital recovery efforts and expressed ambitions to further expand the companies’ partnership beyond the current project.
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/europe/...en-gain-ground-on-open-ran/
Symphony finished the year strongly, recording JPY42 billion ($276 million) in sales in Q4, nearly half its full-year total of JPY85 billion ($558.3 million), a 62% leap over 2023. The company has begun lab trials with Ukraine's Kyivstar and has just signed an MoU for trials with Telkom Kenya.
https://www.lightreading.com/finance/...first-ebitda-profit-this-year
By Ray Le Maistre
Feb 14, 2025
Rakuten Mobile is still Japan’s telco minnow, with about 7.5 million retail subscribers.
But its numbers are heading in the right direction and it has just hit break-even, according to its parent company.
Rakuten Symphony, the mobile operator’s vendor offshoot, struck a positive note with a 62% rise in annual revenues.
The mobile journey of Japanese digital conglomerate Rakuten Group continues to be a fascinating one, as its Rakuten Mobile operation battles for financial stability and for slivers of market share as it competes against a trio of telco giants in Japan. Meanwhile, the mobile operator’s vendor offshoot, Rakuten Symphony, is plying its trade across the world and has just reported its best ever quarter of revenues.
Rakuten Group expects its mobile operator to achieve full year EBITDA profitability in 2025.
Rakuten Mobile ended 2024 with 8.3 million customers in total, though this number includes mobile virtual network operator/enabler customers: Strip those out and Rakuten Mobile ended last year with 7.46 million mobile service customers, up from 5.9 million at the end of 2023.
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/5g/...t-growth-is-still-slow-52342/
Rakuten successfully achieved all three of the key financial targets set at the start of 2024: Full-year consolidated Non-GAAP operating income profitability, monthly EBITDA profitability for Rakuten Mobile, and self-funding at the Group level.
https://rakuten.today/blog/...ts-fy2024-and-q4-financial-results.html
As for new projects, this week, we have already started experiments with Kyivstar in Ukraine. Moving forward, we are progressing toward a project to deploy O-RAN across the entire country of Ukraine.
On January 25, we also began similar initiatives in Kenya.
Additionally, we are providing a cloud and operating support software service called Robin.io to one of the major telecommunications companies in the United States, in a highly exclusive manner.
To draw a comparison, just as Amazon has externalized its cloud technology developed through its e-commerce business, Rakuten Mobile is selling its technology through Rakuten Symphony.
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...l-Transcripts-49072747/
17 Feb 2025
Arab Advisors Group organized the Rakuten Symphony VIP dinner in Dubai, the UAE, bringing together CXOs from leading telecom operators for an evening of insightful discussions and valuable connections.
https://arabadvisors.com/news/rakuten-symphony-vip-dinner-2
Nissan’s five-year CDS is about 216 basis points, SoftBank is around 210 basis points and Rakuten is about 201 basis points, according to CMA data compiled by Bloomberg on Feb. 17.
Nissan’s topped the Japan CDS rankings at a time when Rakuten’s spreads tightened on the back of improved earnings from its mobile operations.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...-rises-highest-japan-084510878.html
Rakuten Mobile has announced a Spring Support Campaign aimed at children making their smartphone debut, as well as students and new working professionals. Customers who meet the eligibility criteria, such as signing up for a new plan and paying with Rakuten Card, can receive up to 14,000 Rakuten Points*, making their mobile phone fees essentially free** for one year. The event featured young Rakuten employees who shared examples of how utilizing the Rakuten Ecosystem can lead to effectively free mobile fees for life.
Limited-time points (valid for 3 months, including the date of issuance). Points will be granted around the end of each month for 3 months, starting from the second month after meeting the conditions.
Call charges, etc. are separate. Conditions such as using Rakuten Link apply. "Essentially" refers to the price calculated by factoring in the points granted later upon meeting the program's conditions and may differ from the actual payment amount.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkSrdnT4MbQ
https://www.tipranks.com/news/...rts-strong-financial-growth-for-2024
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...l-Transcripts-49072747/
21 February 2025
How to simplify IT and network software operations to take advantage of new business opportunities and radically cut costs.
https://the-mobile-network.com/2025/02/...telecom-with-rakuten-cloud/
The Rakuten International business unit achieved revenue of USD 2,037 million, up 8.5% YoY, driven by strong earnings from Rakuten Kobo and Rakuten Viber. Non-GAAP operating income reached USD 48.5 million, an improvement of USD 93.4 million YoY, achieving full-year profitability through successful cost reductions and profitability improvements across Rakuten Rewards and portfolio businesses.
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/...ancial-results-highlights-52340/
CABIFY FUNDING INVESTORS
DATE INVESTORS AMOUNT ROUND
Sep 2012
Red Swan Ventures
Winklevoss Capital
E-Merge
Hit Forge
RESOLUTE Partners
Maurice Werdegar
€1.5m Series A
Apr 2014
Seaya
Brendan Wallace
Kevin Laws
Marc Bell Capital
$8.0m Series A
Oct 2014
Seaya
$4.0m Series B
Oct 2015
Seaya
Rakuten
Winklevoss Capital
Daniel Curran
Peter Livingston
Rakuten Capital
Cometa
$12.0m Series B
Apr 2016
Rakuten
Rakuten Capital
$120m
Valuation: $320m
Series C
May 2017
Seaya
Rakuten
AngelList
Endeavor Catalyst
Rakuten Capital
€91.0m Series D
Jan 2018
Rakuten
Endeavor Catalyst
TheVentureCity
GAT Investments
Rakuten Capital
Liil Ventures
$160m
Valuation: $1.4b Series E
Feb 2019
IDB
$70.0m Debt
May 2022
European Investment Bank
€40.0m Debt
Jul 2022
Mutua Madrileña
N/A Late VC
Mar 2023
AXIS
Orilla Asset Management
$60.0m
Valuation: $1.4b
2.0x EV/LTM Revenues Late VC
Jan 2024
BBVA
€15.0m Debt
Jun 2024
Rakuten
Mutua Madrileña
Orilla Asset Management
$21.6m
Valuation: $1.4b Growth Equity VC
Total Funding €443m
https://startup.spri.eus/companies/cabify
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