Yahoo Japan, Line to merge

NHK -- Nov 18

Yahoo Japan's parent company, Z Holdings, and major messaging app provider LINE have reached an agreement to merge.

82 million people in Japan use LINE, while about 50 million use Yahoo Japan's search engine and news services.

Yahoo Japan recently acquired one of the country's largest online fashion retailers, ZOZO, for 3.7 billion dollars. Its merger with LINE will likely affect the business strategies of other IT companies.

The two companies will hold a news conference about the merger on Monday afternoon.