Youku Tudou Receives $1.22 Billion Investment

BEIJING: Youku Tudou has entered into definitive agreements with a joint investment vehicle of Alibaba Group Holding Limited and Yunfeng Capital that gives it a $1.22 billion injection.

After taking into account the shares to be issued in the transaction, Alibaba and Yunfeng Capital will indirectly hold approximately 16.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of the total issued and outstanding shares of the company. The transaction is expected to close in the near future, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Jonathan Lu, the CEO of Alibaba, will join Youku Tudou's board of directors upon completion of the transaction.

Victor Koo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Youku Tudou, said: "We are very pleased to have Alibaba as our strategic investor. Alibaba's investment will strengthen Youku Tudou as China's largest online video platform and further differentiate our services and user experience. It will help us continue to build an immersive cultural entertainment platform that integrates online and offline entertainment."

"We are excited to cooperate and work closely with Victor and his team to support their innovation in this key emerging space as well as accelerate our digital entertainment and video content strategy," said Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba. "This is an important strategic initiative that will further extend the Alibaba ecosystem and bring new products and services to Alibaba's customers."