Rakuten acquires ebook marketplace OverDrive for $410 million to boost its digital content business

Japanese internet services giant Rakuten announced that it has acquired US-based OverDrive, an ebook and audiobook marketplace, for $410 million in cash. OverDrive’s digital distribution platform lets users borrow more than 2.5 million ebooks and audiobooks from over 30,000 local libraries. The move will likely help Rakuten’s ebook business expand; it acquired Kobo, an ebook reader manufacturer, back in 2011. Rakuten appears to be on a warpath in the digital content industry. It added Wuaki.tv, a video streaming service, and Viki, a global TV and video site, to its portfolio in 2012 and 2013 respectively. With its latest acquisition, the…



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