Ku6 Media Bulks Up, Heats Up Online Video 酷6扩张版图

Video sharing has suddenly become the talk of the town, with industry leaders Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Tudou and Xunlei, along with up-and-comer Tencent (HKEx: 700) all grabbing recent headlines for their moves in the space. While most eyes are fixed on the future of Tudou, which says it is still seeking an IPO and is playing down reports it may be up for sale (English article), another interesting story is quietly unfolding involving a couple of much smaller but still significant players who have just merged. I’m talking about the announcement by Ku6 Media (Nasdaq: KUTV), the company once known as Hurray Holdings, that it will buy video sharing rival Pipi.cn. (company announcement) By my calculations, the deal should take two small players each valued at around $150 million to create a single medium-sized player worth twice that amount.  I’m not saying this guarantees any success, as this new company — which just sacked its founder in March — is still losing lots of money, at least from Ku6’s side. Its control by Shanda Interactive (Nasdaq: SNDA) could also prove either a blessing or a curse, depending on how Shanda’s whimsical chief Chen Tianqiao handles things. But this company could definitely be one to watch going forward, either as a consolidator or an acquisition target.

Bottom line: Stay tuned to the new Ku6 Media, which could be involved in some major M&A in the next 12 months.

视频分享网站突然成了人们热议的焦点。行业领袖优酷<YOKU.N>，土豆和迅雷，以及新加入战团的腾讯<0700.HK>都抢占了媒体的大量关注。在大多数人将目光集中於土豆上市前景之际，另一个有趣的故事正在悄悄进行。这个故事涉及的视频网站规模虽然稍小一些，但在行业里依然重要。我说的就是酷6传媒<KUTV.O>要并购皮皮网的事。按照我的计算，这笔交易会让两个估值分别在约1.5亿美元的公司变成一家业内中型规模的公司，估值应相当於上述数字的两倍。不是说这肯定能保证成功，单从酷6一方讲，这家公司的创始人刚在3月份离职，公司依然处於较严重的亏损状态。而且酷6由盛大网络<SNDA.O>控股这一事实也是双刃剑，这取决於陈天桥如何处理。但这家公司肯定是值得关注的，无论是作为并购者，还是并购对象。

一句话：关注并购後的酷6，未来一年这家公司可能会有重大的并购举动。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Tudou Smells Sweet as Video Sharing Purchase　　土豆网秀色可餐

◙ Tencent Takes Serious Shot at Video 腾讯重拳出击视频业务

◙ Ku6 Media CEO Falls Victim to Whimsical Ways of Shanda’s Chen