Amazon will acquire online shoe retailer Zappos.com for €567 million (US$807 million) worth of stock, in what is the largest acquisition in the company's history.
In addition to trading 10 million shares for the company, Amazon will give Zappos employees €28 million(US$40 million) in cash and stock options.
It is one of a series of deals in vertical retail segments by the online e-commerce giant. Two weeks ago it launched Amazon Wireless, to sell mobile phones and services, and it also Javari, a Japanese online shoe store, and a Dprerview.com, which reviews digital cameras.
Zappos will maintain its management team and continue to operate as an independent unit once the merger is complete, Amazon said.
“Zappos also has a totally unique culture,” Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in a video presentation. “I've seen a lot of companies, and I've never seen a company with a culture like Zappos's. That culture and the Zappos brand are huge assets that... I want to see continue.”
The shoe retailer received 4.5 million visitors in June, according to the New York Times, and had sales of over a billion dollars last year, the Las Vegas Sun said.
