Alibaba said to have bought 20% stake in Wasu Media for US$1bn
March 10, 2014 Leave a comment
Alibaba said to have bought 20% stake in Wasu Media for US$1bn
Staff Reporter
2014-03-07
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has reportedly acquired a 20% stake in Wasu Media Holding Co worth about US$1 billion, the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald reports, citing market speculation after Wasu issued a statement on Tuesday to suspend trading.
The Shenzhen-listed company said on March 4 that it would suspend trading on the local stock market as it planned to adjust a private placement scheme. A spokesperson for Alibaba offered no comment in response to the market speculation.
A Wasu spokesperson said the suspension is because the firm intends to introduce a strategic investor, declining to elaborate further.
The investment, if true, will be another major investment for Alibaba after the company on Feb. 17 acquired a 72% stake in AutoNavi Software Co for US$1.045 billion.
The two companies have previously been partners in a joint venture, having jointly invested 100 million yuan (US$16.5 million) in a TV shopping venture. In 2011, Alibaba bought back Wasu’s stake in the joint venture for 28 million yuan (US$4.6 million).
On July 23, 2013, Alibaba unveiled its smart TV operation system, including box and smart TV, in which the box was jointly developed by Alibaba and Wasu, while the smart TV was developed by various partners including leading consumer electrical goods maker Haier Group.
Wasu is an important investment for Alibaba in the cable TV network sector, said DWRH.net editor-in-chief Wu Chunyong. Once the cable TV network’s ecosystem matures, Alibaba will copy its user-centered internet products and services and transfer them to the cable TV network, Wu said.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is working to a four-year plan to enter the cable TV network sector in three stages: first is to set up a TV shopping network, the second is to establish an ecosystem by cooperating with partners to develop an alliance for smart TVs. Now the plan has entered the third stage, focusing on mergers and acquisitions to quickly complete the layout ahead of its competitors, the report said.
Alibaba is seeking to dominate the family internet market, the third network after the PC and mobile internet markets.
As the smart TV is still an undeveloped market for network shopping, it will be the key focus for Alibaba’s expansion.
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