SoftBank Corp.'s group company controlling Yahoo Japan Corp. and major messaging app provider Line Corp. are considering merging their operations by the end of 2020, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.

Yahoo Japan operator Z Holdings Corp. under SoftBank, a mobile phone unit of SoftBank Group Corp., and Line will announce their merger plan possibly next week, the sources said.

SoftBank and Line hope to expand their internet businesses including online retailing, advertising and mobile phone services, the sources said.

The combined sales of Yahoo Japan and Line would be the largest among Japanese online business operators, surpassing those of e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc.

Line has about 80 million users of its messaging app, while more than 50 million people visit the Yahoo Japan website each month.

Z Holdings and Line plan to separately operate their smartphone payment services while seeking to improve efficiency and convenience.

Z Holdings' Paypay service has 19 million users, while Line Pay has 37 million users.

The companies will consider eventually merging their digital payment businesses depending on the outcome of an antitrust review, the sources said.

==Kyodo

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