Rakuten Group (4755.T) has announced its intention to consolidate its fintech operations into a single group, to enhance collaboration and expand its customer base across various sectors such as online banking, credit cards, securities, and insurance.
In a memorandum of understanding, Rakuten Group and Rakuten Bank (5838.T) have outlined plans for this reorganization, which is slated to come into effect in October.
Both entities have affirmed that Rakuten Bank will remain listed on the Tokyo exchange even after the integration.
The financial performance of the parent company, anchored by the e-commerce platform Rakuten Ichiba, has faced challenges since the launch of its mobile carrier in 2020, resulting in 14 consecutive quarters of operating losses.
To address this, Rakuten has pursued various strategies, including equity and debt issuance, asset divestitures, and listing Rakuten Bank in April 2023.
Additionally, efforts to list its securities arm in July 2023 were met with delays, leading to Rakuten selling a 30% stake in the company to Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) in November of the same year.
In light of the upcoming reorganization, Rakuten has indicated the possibility of abandoning plans to list Rakuten Securities.
