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Japan: Softbank considers online messenger acquisition

By  |  February 25, 2014

Owner of US wireless operator Sprint-Nextel, Japan’s Softbank, is reportedly considering an acquisition of South Korean online messaging service Line, owed by Naver, say reports.

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    Reports say the two companies held talks as Naver mulls a possible IPO for Line.

    Naver has reportedly received multiple bids for the messaging service, which is the most widely-used messenger in Japan, as well as Thailand and Taiwan.

    Line is on the path to expand throughout India and Latin America and could be valued at nearly $5 billion by the end of this year, according to reports.

    Should any merger occur, it would follow a recent trend in the technology industry as Facebook recently announced its $19 billion buyout of the WhatsApp messaging service, and Japan’s Rakuten acquired messaging service Viber in a $900 million deal.

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