Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc said on Friday it would sell an 8.32% stake to postal and banking giant Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd, deepening a logistics tie-up in the face of competition from rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.
Rakuten, which plunged to an operating loss in 2020, is under pressure on multiple fronts as it battles Amazon in e-commerce and takes on Japan’s cash-rich telcos with its own mobile network.