Japan's Yahoo and Line announce October 2020 merger plan

SoftBank and Naver's venture to be Japan's largest online player

20191118 Logos of LINE and YAHOO

A merger of Yahoo Japan and Line would create a company with greater revenue than Rakuten, Japan's leading internet company. (Nikkei montage)

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- The operators of Yahoo sites in Japan and the Line chat app jointly announced on Monday that they have reached a basic agreement on a merger. The companies aim to sign a finalized agreement in December.

SoftBank Group and South Korean internet giant Naver will form a joint holding company, each investing 50%, according to an announcement by Z Holdings, the Yahoo parent and SoftBank Group member, as well as Line.

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