(Bloomberg) -- Rakuten Inc. gained as much as 22.7% in Tokyo, the most since 2002 on an intraday basis, after the company announced a 242 billion yen ($2.2 billion) share sale to investors including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Walmart Inc. and Japan Post Holdings Co. on Friday.

Japan’s e-commerce pioneer intends to use the funds to expand its capabilities in artificial intelligence, financial technology and mobile networks. It recently became the fourth mobile carrier in its domestic market, undercutting the incumbents with aggressive pricing and the addition of fifth-generation connectivity at no extra cost.

Japan Post and Rakuten also announced they will deepen an existing alliance on logistics forged by the two last year. The deal brings together Rakuten’s more than 100 million members and Japan Post’s last-mile access to every household and a network of 24,000 post offices, the two companies said in a presentation. The postal group also operates a life insurance business and a bank with about 120 million savings accounts.

“The alliance will focus on e-commerce first, where having access to Japan Post’s network will be a crucial advantage,” Rakuten Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi Mikitani said at a briefing in Tokyo. “We will also look into partnership in mobile and other businesses.”

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