TOKYO-Rakuten Inc., a Japanese e-commerce company, and NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced a business and capital alliance that calls for the companies to provide Internet auction services over mobile phones and personal computers.
The agreement calls for Rakuten to spin off part of its Internet auction business into Rakuten Auction Inc. on Dec. 1. Later that month, plans call for DoCoMo to acquire 40 percent of Rakuten Auction’s common shares for $36.7 million. Rakuten Auction is set to take over Rakuten’s PC-based auction service called Rakuten Flea Market, which allows people to list items for sale.
Rakuten Auction will expand its Internet auction service to allow DoCoMo customers to participate in auctions using their mobile phones. A launch date for mobile auctions, however, has not been released.
