Input 2020.12.16 11:41
According to the Nippon Geizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 16th, Line held an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting the day before to decide on a stock merger with Z Holdings and delisted on the 29th of this month. It has been 4 years since it was listed in July 2016.
Line and Z Holdings, which are scheduled for management integration in March next year, are attracting interest in the creation of a giant Japanese IT (information technology) company while pursuing synergy effects in various fields such as new business using artificial intelligence in the future.
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“We want to share the merits (benefits) of the two companies’ integration with consumers by holding a presentation in March,” said Kentaro Kawabe, president of Z Holdings.
It has been about a year since the two companies finally agreed on the integration, but specific consultations began after August this year, when the approval of each country’s regulatory authorities was granted. The integration period was also delayed for about five months from October, which was originally scheduled, to March next year.
Nikkei said that it is expected to be able to develop product recommendation systems using big data more easily through the partnership between Line, which boasts 86 million users each month, and Yahoo, which provides e-commerce services.
Through this integration, the two companies aim to create a global tech company capable of countering the giant IT companies in the US or China.
LINE has previously entered overseas markets, including four Asian countries, but in Indonesia and other countries, due to competition with Facebook WhatsApp, the number of users increased by only 3% over the four years. The deficit continued as a result of large investments in the fintech sector, and the stock price also stagnated.
Maeda Eiji, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities, said, “Since the Asian market is fiercely competitive, it will be difficult to pioneer without a partnership with a company invested by SoftBank Group (SBG).”
He added, “Since the businesses of both companies are growing, there is no need to unify them from the beginning,” he added. “Right now (Line and Z Holdings) alliance alone is expected to be a plus for profits.”
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