Alibaba Group has reached an agreement to purchase a 16.5% stake in
Alibaba and Yunfeng Capital, an investment company co-founded by Alibaba’s billionaire chairman Jack Ma, will hold a combined 18.5% stake and pay a total of $1.22 billion, according an announcement by Youku.
The transaction is expected to close "in the near future," subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Youku said.
The move is the latest by Alibaba to enter the media industry after it paid $804 million for a 60% stake in Hong Kong-listed ChinaVision Media last month. "This is an important strategic initiative that will further extend the Alibaba ecosystem and bring new products and services to Alibaba's customers," Ma said in a statement. The investment in Youku, he said, will “accelerate our digital entertainment and video content strategy.”
"Alibaba's investment will strengthen Youku Tudou as China's largest online video platform and further differentiate our services and user experience,” Youku CEO Victor Koo said.
Earlier today, mobile browser company UCWeb said it would form a mobile browsing venture with Alibaba. Financial details weren’t disclosed.
Alibaba is 24% owned by
Jonathan Lu, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba, will join Youku's board of directors upon completion of the transaction.
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