Play.com sold for £25m

Online entertainment retail giant Play.com has agreed to sell itself to Japanese company Rakuten.

The agreed fee is 25m.

Rakuten is the largest online retail operator in Japan. Play.com is its third European acquisition following moves for French site PriceMinister and German shopping portal Tradoria.

In total the company operates out of ten countries.

"The UK market is one of Europe’s largest and most mature e-commerce markets,” Rakuten chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani stated.

Play.com is not only a pioneer in the market, but also one of the UK’s most successful e-commerce businesses. We aim to leverage our e-commerce strength and experience to further expand and develop Play.com’s business model and channel its loyal user base, merchants, and deep product offerings into Rakuten’s global e-commerce network."