Bottom line: 58.com’s new purchase of an online job site extends its spree of recent acquisitions and partnerships, which looks like a focused, well-conceived plan that could position it to emerge as a leading Chinese Internet advertising specialist.
The savvy online classifieds site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) is back in the headlines as we close out the week, with word that it’s signed a deal to purchase online job specialist ChinaHR. If true, the deal would mark the latest in a steady stream of acquisitions for 58.com, which looks well positioned to become a truly diversified leader in online classified advertising services.
Such a focused strategy looks much better than the more diversified M&A being practiced these days by China’s largest Internet companies, which are all venturing far beyond the core businesses that brought them their initial success. Of course it’s much easier for companies like 58.com to keep their focus due to their small size. Compared to names like Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), which are each valued at around $200 billion, 58.com still has a relatively small market value of about $7 billion. Read Full Post…
