Telecommunications company KDDI acquired Japan-based Luxa, a premium outlet e-commerce company that is also one of its corporate venturing portfolio companies, yesterday for an undisclosed amount.
Luxa operates an online group buying store where customers can purchase time-limited or quantity-limited goods such as consumer electronics, apparel, cosmetics and designer-brand clothing.
KDDI, which plans to make Luxa a consolidated subsidiary, invested an undisclosed amount in the company in October 2014 after Luxa had received $3.3m in September 2013 from KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the joint investment venture between KDDI and venture capital firm Global Brain.
Investment firm Jafco provided ¥500m ($5.3m) of series A funding for Luxa in 2010, before investing a further ¥500m in March 2013.
BizReach, a jobs listings website for management positions, originally set up Luxa in 2010 before spinning it out later the same year.