Amazon Looking Overseas Again

Amazon.com (AMZN) may be taking another trip abroad.

The online retailer has held talks with German media giant Bertelsmann about acquiring the company's online book retailer BOL.com, The New York Times reported Tuesday. If completed, a deal would give Amazon further reach overseas, giving the company a foothold in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Italy and China. Amazon already operates sites in Canada, the U.K., Japan and France, and its international segment continues to expand even as growth cools in the company's core U.S. business.

"Amazon continues to do stuff all the time in terms of expanding their reach and finding new revenue streams," says Holly Gustafson, who covers the company for Legg Mason and has a buy rating on the stock. "This doesn't surprise me at all."

In the latest quarter, Amazon's international segment saw revenue grow 70% to $218 million, while the division's loss narrowed 66% to $10 million. Meanwhile, sales growth in Amazon's core U.S. books, music and video business was just 6%.

BOL.com has an estimated $98 million in sales -- a small portion of Amazon's overall revenue of more than $3 billion, but it would be a hefty chunk of the company's international division -- and is projected to lose $39 million this year, the Times reported.

Seattle-based Amazon declined to comment.

Amazon shares dipped 17 cents to trade lately at $14.77, but are up about 33% on the year, as the company as won back investors with its steadily improving financials. After being chucked aside by investors last year for its seemingly endless stream of red ink, the company reported its first-ever profit in the fourth quarter. The company followed that with solid reports in the first and second quarters. Although it dipped back into the red, Amazon beat Wall Street's forecasts and raised guidance.

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