The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), Hony Capital To Invest $420 Mln In PPTV (English article)
Telecoms Regulator Requires Handset Makers To List Pre-Installed Apps (English article)
This year’s shake-up of the online video space is taking yet another turn, with word that Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), one of China’s top 3 services, has agreed to buy rival Xunlei’s service called Kankan. If true, this development would be quite exciting, as it would mark the rise of a third major player in the space that is undergoing a major consolidation. Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) remains the industry leader after its formation last year with the merger of China’s 2 largest video sites. Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi is emerging as a strong number 2 after its acquisition of PPS in May for $370 million. Sohu previously operated China’s second largest video sharing service, and a purchase of Xunlei Kankan would comfortably bolster its place as one of China’s top 3 sites. Read Full Post…
Smart TVs, which let consumers watch programs via Internet-based channels, has suddenly become the latest flavor of the day for China tech firms, with just about every major Internet player piling into the market in the last few months. Top e-commerce firm Alibaba and search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) have both announced major new initiatives in the last 2 months, and now social networking leader Tencent (HKEx: 700) is joining the frenzy with its own new tie-up. At the same time, retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) may also be making moves in the space, with word that it’s near a deal to purchase online video company PPTV. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) In Advanced Talks To Buy PPTV For $400 Mln – Source (Chinese article)
Microsoft, BesTV (Shanghai: 600637) to Invest up to $237 Mln in China Venture (English article)
US Solar Group Offers Proposal To End US-China Panel Dispute (Group announcement)
KKR, Modern Dairy (HKEx: 1117) To Build Large Scale Farms in Shandong (Businesswire)
Alibaba Launches Taobao C2C Service In Singapore (English article)
Internet TV is fast becoming the flavor of the day for China’s leading Internet and gadget companies, with word that e-commerce giant Alibaba has now entered the field through a new tie-up with TV maker Skyworth (HKEx: 751). The news comes just a week after online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) announced its own similar tie-up with TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070), another leading TV maker, and following other similar recent product roll-outs by names like smartphone maker Xiaomi, video content provider LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) and PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). Read Full Post…
It seems the word “imminent” can have several different meanings when it comes to M&A among Chinese Internet firms. In most cases, it means “very soon”, which seems to be the case with reports that a deal is imminent for e-commerce giant Alibaba to purchase video sharing site PPTV, also known as PPLive. Meantime, the word can also sometimes mean “a long time” or perhaps even “never”, which is the case for a deal that has seen reports appear several time for an imminent sale of Sogou, the search engine owned by web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), to several different buyers. Read Full Post…
Internet leaders Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Alibaba are in a recent war to see who can win the most headlines for online M&A, which has suddenly accelerated in China after years of inactivity. In the last 24 hours alone, media are reporting that Alibaba has finalized a deal to team with Hunan Satellite Television to purchase PPTV, one of China’s top video sharing sites. Not to be outdone, Baidu was reported earlier this week to be in late-stage talks to buy group buying site Nuomi (previous post), and has just announced the finalization of its previously announced $1.9 billion plan to buy online app store 91Wireless. (company announcement) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Agrees To Talks On French Wine Dispute, EU Says (English article)
Alibaba In Late-Stage Talks To Buy PPTV Stake – Source (Chinese article)
Just 2 weeks after reporting that web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) had broken off talks to buy PPTV, a sudden flurry of new reports have appeared saying several other companies are bidding for the online video company, including leading e-commerce firms Alibaba and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). Rather than reflecting PPTV’s attractiveness, I suspect this sudden flurry of talks is being driven by a impatience among its shareholders who have pumped big money into the money-losing company but have received little returns so far. If that’s the case, I would expect to see PPTV acquired most likely by the end of this month, though perhaps at a far lower price than the investors were originally seeking. Read Full Post…
