Who owns Rakuten Kobo?
Rakuten Kobo is owned by Rakuten (Japan, TSE: 4755), which has owned the brand since 2012.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Annual Securities Report ("Yukashoken-Hokokusho"), Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2025, Rakuten Group, Inc, 26 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Rakuten Group, Inc. reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇯🇵 Japan, Tokyo
- Origin
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Category
- Internet & digital › Digital services › Digital publishing
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 4755
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Rakuten Kobo
Kobo Inc., the Canadian e-book company, was consolidated as a Rakuten subsidiary in January 2012 and renamed Rakuten Kobo Inc. It is wholly owned, carries C$973 million of paid-in capital and sells both e-books and the e-book readers the group counts among its hardware. Rakuten's own management analysis names Rakuten Kobo as a growth driver in its international internet services business.
Ownership timeline of Rakuten Kobo
Where Rakuten Kobo sits in Rakuten
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Rakuten ownership tree →
See the full Rakuten brand portfolio (12) →
Other brands owned by Rakuten
Rakuten controls 12 brands on Brandtree, 11 of them in internet & digital.
Also in internet & digital
Other brands in digital publishing, and who owns them
The 36 brands in digital publishing on Brandtree belong to 20 owners. The largest is Astro, with 4.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Astro Ulagam | Astro | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Research Exchange | Wiley | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Engadget | Apollo | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Allrecipes | IAC | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bossip | Urban One | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Audible | Amazon | 🇺🇸 United States |
| BOOK☆WALKER | Kadokawa | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| NAVER Blog | NAVER | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
About the owner: Rakuten
Rakuten is a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1997. Brandtree records 12 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 4755.
Rakuten was founded in May 1997 as MDM Co., Ltd. with ¥10 million of capital, to build an online commerce server and run an internet shopping mall called Rakuten Ichiba. It was renamed Rakuten, Inc. in June 1999 and Rakuten Group, Inc. in April 2021, and its shares moved to the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April 2022. The group reports three segments — Internet Services, FinTech and Mobile — and recorded revenue of ¥2,496,575 million and a net loss attributable to owners of ¥177,886 million for 2025, with 29,419 employees. Its head office is at 1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.
🇨🇦 Rakuten Kobo and other Canadian brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 174 brands that began in Canada. 41 of them (24%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Rakuten Kobo among them.
- Assassin's Creed — Ubisoft 🇫🇷
- Bitmoji — Snap 🇺🇸
- EA Sports FC — EA 🇺🇸
- IMAX Enhanced — IMAX 🇨🇦
- Investopedia — IAC 🇺🇸
- Plenty of Fish — Match Group 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Rakuten Kobo?
The parent company of Rakuten Kobo is Rakuten, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is Rakuten Kobo Canadian or Japanese?
Rakuten Kobo originated in Canada, but it is owned today by Rakuten, which is headquartered in Japan. So Rakuten Kobo is a Canadian-origin brand under Japanese ownership.
Since when has Rakuten owned Rakuten Kobo?
Rakuten has owned Rakuten Kobo since 2012.
Is Rakuten Kobo still owned by Rakuten?
Yes. As of 27 September 2026, Rakuten Kobo is still owned by Rakuten. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Annual Securities Report ("Yukashoken-Hokokusho"), Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2025 — Rakuten Group, Inc., Annual report, published 26 March 2026; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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