American Express made an acquisition in Japan by picking up restaurant booking service Pocket Concierge in an undisclosed deal.
The acquisition was announced in Japanese and in English by James Riney, the head of 500 Startups Japan, which invested in Pocket Concierge as one of its first deals in the country.
The service was launched in 2013 to help book quality restaurants, including those that are Michelin-starred and others that have months-long waitlists for reservations. It currently works with 800 restaurants and is available in Japanese, English and Chinese; its closest competitors include OpenTable and local operator TableAll.
American Express said Pocket Concierge will continue as a wholly owned subsidiary. It plans to integrate the business with its card membership services.
American Express acquisitions from last year included travel assistant Mezi and U.K-based fintech startup Cake.
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