Line is a privately owned company headquartered in Japan, with LY Corporation as its parent company. Established in 2000, it employs approximately 4,100 individuals, specializing in software development. The company operates a communications platform, primarily serving as a messenger service in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. Beyond its core functionality of free instant messaging and VoIP calls, the platform integrates social media, mobile payments via LINE Pay, news aggregation through LINE TODAY, and specialized services such as LINE Doctor and LINE Music. As of 2026, LINE functions as a central lifestyle ecosystem for over 200 million monthly active users, leveraging its character IP (LINE FRIENDS) and an extensive API for businesses to provide an experience that bridges personal communication and daily transactions.
LY Corporation announced the appointment of a Chief Operating Officer, effective October 1, 2026. Hours earlier on September 16, LY Corporation and Bain Capital raised their tender offer price for Kakaku.com Inc. as part of a joint going-private transaction. This deal, pursued through BCPE Blitz Cayman L.P., targets Kakaku.com’s common shares and share acquisition rights, involving major shareholder KDDI CORPORATION to ultimately make BCPE Blitz and KDDI the sole owners. Previously, on August 28, SoftBank Group Corp. announced a change to the completion timing for LY Corporation's additional acquisition of shares in its consolidated subsidiary, LINE MAN CORPORATION PTE. LTD.
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