SAN FRANCISCO ¨C EBay Inc. said on Tuesday it would buy Giosis Pte. Ltd.¡¯s Japanese business, including the Qoo10 online shopping platform, to expand its presence in Asia¡¯s second-largest economy.
Giosis, which already counts eBay as an investor, operates seven localized online marketplaces in five countries, including Japan and Singapore.
U.S.-based eBay said it would relinquish its stake in Giosis¡¯ non-Japanese businesses.
Devin Wenig, eBay¡¯s chief executive officer, said in an interview with Reuters the company expects significant growth in Japan, already the world¡¯s third-largest e-commerce market.
¡°There is this perfect convergence of growing wealth and technology adoption,¡± Wenig said. ¡°We think there¡¯s a lot of runway.¡±
The deal will bring eBay¡¯s technology and its worldwide sellers to Qoo10¡¯s base of 2 million shoppers, mirroring its play book in South Korea nearly a decade ago, Wenig said.
¡°We¡¯re going to bring the world¡¯s inventory into Japan,¡± he said.
Wenig declined to disclose the terms of the deal, valued at close to $700 million, according to a Bloomberg report.
EBay has modified its platforms, including its namesake shopping service, to include grouped listings and a simpler payment process to lure shoppers amid stiff competition from Amazon.com Inc.
Shares in eBay are up about 14 percent this year.
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