Alibaba Bids to Fully Acquire Youku Tudou

October 16, 2015 World Screen Top Stories

HANGZHOU: Alibaba Group has made a proposal to Youku Tudou to acquire all outstanding shares it doesn't already own of the Chinese online video company.

Alibaba currently owns 18.3 percent. The proposed transaction would expand the existing partnership between Alibaba and Youku, and would combine Alibaba’s data-driven platforms in e-commerce, media and advertising with Youku’s digital video franchise. Youku’s user base, especially in mobile, and its popular platforms would form one of the key pillars of Alibaba’s digital entertainment strategy.

Under Alibaba’s proposal, Youku’s founder, Victor Koo, would continue to lead the business as chairman and CEO.

“We are pleased to submit the proposal to the Youku board of directors,” said Daniel Zhang, the CEO of Alibaba Group. “We believe that the proposed transaction, with tighter integration of our resources, will help Youku achieve exciting growth in the years ahead by leveraging Alibaba’s assets in living-room entertainment, e-commerce, advertising and data analytics. Digital products, especially video, are just as important as physical goods in e-commerce, and Youku’s high-quality video content will be a core component of Alibaba’s digital product offering in the future. I look forward to working with Victor and his leadership team to grow our combined digital entertainment business.”

“I’ve always admired what Victor has built,” added Alibaba Group's executive chairman, Jack Ma. “A closer partnership with Youku will give us the opportunity to support Victor and his leadership team to fulfill the dream of building the leading digital entertainment platform in China.”