Rakuten invests in leading Chinese online rebates site Fanli

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Rakuten Inc on Monday announced that it has taken a less than 10% stake in Fanli, China’s largest online rebate and rebate based flash sale company. The C-series round values the Chinese online shopping company at approximately US$1 Billion. As part of this investment, Kevin H. Johnson, CEO of Ebates, a Rakuten Group company, will join Fanli’s board of directors.

“We are very excited to bring Rakuten on as an investor and welcome Kevin Johnson as a member of our board of directors,” commented Gary Ge, CEO of Fanli. “Rakuten is a genuine e-commerce pioneer with significant global experience and we look forward to working with Rakuten as we bring our vision to consumers across China and around the world.

“This investment in Fanli reflects Rakuten and Ebates’ ongoing interest in the rapidly evolving Chinese market,” added Johnson. “As the market continues to mature we believe consumers will demand world-class shopping experiences. Rakuten and Ebates hope to support Fanli’s vision of fulfilling this role and exploring potential collaborations in China and abroad.”

Fanli is the largest rebate based loyalty shopping program in China and a pioneer of “Super Rebates” flash promotion service, a combination of cash back and flash sales for brands. Ebates, which operates Chinese cross-border loyalty shopping sites Ebates.cn and Extrabux.com, is the largest online shopper loyalty program in the USA. Rakuten, which acquired Ebates in 2014, is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and is rapidly expanding its global market service and cross-border shopping capabilities.