LY Corporation

LINE Yahoo and U.S. investment fund Bain Capital announced on the 16th that they have raised their tender offer price for Kakaku.com, which operates the restaurant review site Tabelog, from 3,520–3,640 yen per share to 3,597–3,720 yen. The move is a counter-bid in response to Sweden's EQT, which is pursuing a tender offer at 3,680 yen. In the battle for control of Kakaku.com, EQT announced its tender offer in May, and after LINE Yahoo formally proposed an acquisition on July 1, both camps have repeatedly raised their tender offer prices.

Hong Kong fund Oasis Management said on the 19th that among multiple buyout proposals for Kakaku.com, in which it holds about 19.5% of shares, the tender offer of up to 3,640 yen per share currently proposed by the LINE Yahoo consortium is the best option for minority shareholders. It also said that as long as the price of the rival tender offer by European investment firm EQT, at 3,570 yen, is below the LINE Yahoo camp's offer, it has no intention of tendering its shares to EQT. Kakaku.com has expressed support for EQT's buyout proposal, and on the 13th the price was raised from 3,450 yen to 3,570 yen per share. LINE Yahoo, teaming up with US investment fund Bain Capital, set the purchase price at 3,520 yen per share if it launches a tender offer for Kakaku.com, and at 3,640 yen if it signs an agreement under which major shareholder KDDI will not tender. LINE Yahoo has made Kakaku.com's expression of support a condition for launching the tender offer. KDDI has already signed a non-tender agreement with EQT, and can tender to a rival offer only if that rival offer is launched at a price more than 2% above EQT's tender offer price. For this reason, Kakaku.com regards the 3,640 yen price as unfeasible, but Oasis said that if EQT's tender offer fails, the main obligations under the existing contract would lapse, making a tender offer at 3,640 yen feasible. It also called on Kakaku.com to take steps such as withdrawing its support for EQT's proposal.

PayPay announced a capital alliance with Seven & i Holdings, SEVEN-ELEVEN JAPAN, SoftBank, and LY Corporation to integrate digital payment and physical retail experiences in Japan. The partnership aims to combine PayPay's payment platform and 75 million users with Seven & i's roughly 22,000 SEVEN-ELEVEN stores and customer data to build personalized shopping and digital financial services. The alliance is described as a long-term growth initiative for all partners and a material development for PayPay shareholders.

LY Corp reported consolidated revenue of JPY553.9 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 13.1% year on year, with adjusted EBITDA rising 23.1% to JPY154.8 billion and margin improving to 28%. The Media business saw adjusted EBITDA grow 14.2% with margin expanding to 41.8%, while Commerce adjusted EBITDA rose 10.2% with margin reaching 17.3%. Strategic businesses, which include PayPay and other fintech operations, posted revenue growth of 34.9% and adjusted EBITDA of JPY35 billion at a 26.9% margin, with PayPay alone delivering 28.4% revenue growth, 23% GMV growth, and a 59.1% jump in EBITDA. The company's AI agent, Agent i, reached 12 million daily active users, and LYP Premium direct members grew 36.8% to 6.82 million. Management expressed confidence in exceeding full-year guidance, citing strong first-quarter performance and no major risks for the second quarter.

European investment firm EQT announced on the 31st that it has extended the tender offer period for Kakaku.com from the previous deadline of August 3 to August 17. EQT launched the tender offer on May 13, and on July 17 raised the offer price from 3,000 yen to 3,450 yen per share while extending the period from July 22 to August 3. Meanwhile, LINE Yahoo, which has also made a takeover proposal, announced on the 29th that it would raise its offer price to 3,520 yen per share in partnership with US investment fund Bain Capital if it proceeds with a tender offer, and that the price would be raised from 3,500 yen to 3,640 yen per share if major shareholder KDDI agrees not to tender its shares. Kakaku.com's closing price on the 31st was 3,690 yen, up 0.22 percent from the previous trading day.

Bain Capital and LY Corp. are considering a fresh joint takeover offer for Kakaku.com that would likely exceed EQT AB's 3,450 per-share bid. People familiar with the discussions said a proposal could be presented within days, though no final decision has been made. Kakaku.com shares have climbed almost 60% this year, giving the company a market value of approximately $4.5 billion. EQT has extended its tender-offer period until August 3 and is in talks with shareholder Oasis Management, while Kakaku.com continues to support EQT's offer. Bain Capital and Kakaku.com declined to comment, and LY Corp. did not respond to a request for comment.

On the 9th, Japan's National Police Agency signed an agreement on information sharing with three companies — Mercari, LINE Yahoo, and Rakuten Group — to prevent fraudulent transaction damage on e-commerce sites. The companies will provide police with fraudulently used credit card numbers and malicious seller account information, which police will cross-reference with their own data for cross-sectional analysis. When police determine there is a strong risk of expanding damage, such as suspected organized activity, they will provide all three companies with the information needed to prevent further harm. The businesses will then take measures such as alerting users, suspending related accounts, and halting product shipments.

Oasis Management, a major shareholder of Kakaku.com, has entered into an agreement on the 1st to tender all of its Kakaku.com shares in the planned tender offer by LINE Yahoo and Bain Capital. Oasis holds a 19.52% stake in Kakaku.com, and according to a change report, its ownership percentage remains unchanged. The obligation to tender will lapse if Sweden's EQT, which is conducting a prior tender offer, makes a proposal that exceeds the current offer price by 1% or more. The LINE Yahoo-Bain tender offer is priced at up to 3,500 yen per share, is conditional on Kakaku.com expressing support, and is expected to commence around September.

Swedish investment firm EQT announced it is extending the period of its tender offer for Kakaku.com to the 22nd. The offer price remains unchanged at 3,000 yen per share. This move follows Kakaku.com's decision on the 2nd to withdraw its recommendation for EQT's tender offer and leave the decision to shareholders. On the 1st, LINE Yahoo announced a formal acquisition proposal for Kakaku.com at 3,384 yen per share.