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Tag Archives: Youku Tudou
Latest financial and Business news from youku tudou INC
Stock analysis for Youku Tudou Inc (YOKU:New York) including stock news, corporate company news, key statistics, fundamentals and company profile
Bottom line: The delay in Netflix’s plans to enter China this year may be due to lobbying from domestic online video companies, and it could be several more years before it gets permission to form a China venture.
China absent in major Netflix expansion
Shareholders of US entertainment giant Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) will be disappointed to learn that China wasn’t included on the company’s global road map, as it announced a major expansion for its signature online video service. Many believed that an entry to China could come as early as this year, after media reported last spring that Netflix was in talks to set up a Chinese online video joint venture with Wasu Media (Shenzhen: 000156), which is backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA).
But the road into China was never going to be easy for any foreign online video company, due to Beijing’s heavy censorship of the Internet and also its inherent bias against big foreign companies. All that said, Netflix isn’t exactly writing off China completely either, but is simply saying its road into the market may take longer than it previously hoped. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The new alliance between Tencent and Zhejiang TV reflects the growing strength of China’s big Internet companies in online video, and will benefit but also challenge both sides.
By Lin Nanwei
Tencent, Zhejiang TV in new partnership
Last week’s World Internet Conference in the scenic water town of Wuzhen attracted media attention due to attendance by most of the sector’s top leaders, even though few said anything substantial. But Tencent(HKEx: 700) Chairman and CEO Pony did a little homework before he came.
The day before the curtain came down on the big event, Ma appeared at another event in nearby Hangzhou to announce a strategic partnership between Tencent and Zhejiang Television & Radio Group, the province’s largest state-owned TV broadcaster. According to reports, the 2 sides will focus on cooperation in development of content, channels and promotional activities. (Chinese article) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Mango TV’s scaled-back new funding reflects the potential and stiff competition in China’s online video market, while Lufax’s Chinese and foreign roots could make it a name to watch in the emerging private financial services sector.
Mango TV nears $1.5 billion funding
Two fund-raising deals likely to be among China’s largest next year are in the headlines as we close the week, led by a major paring back of plans by upstart online video company Mango TV. The other news is shedding more light on aggressive expansion plans by Lufax, another upstart in the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending space, which is in the process of seeking $1 billion in new funds.
Let’s jump right in with the Mango deal, which is reportedly close to wrapping and will see the company raise $1.5 billion. (Chinese article) I’m admit I’m not completely sure that the figure is US dollars, as the Chinese report doesn’t specify if it’s dollars or Chinese yuan. But the US dollar figure is more consistent with reports last month, which said Mango was seeking to raise up to 20 billion yuan, or about $3.2 billion in its second funding round. (previous post) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Chinese video- and entertainment-related companies will continue to attract big investments and valuations over the next year due to their strong growth potential, even as sentiment cools towards other new media companies.
Mango TV eyes major new funding
Investor sentiment may be rapidly cooling towards many Internet areas in China, but entertainment is one that still remains quite popular. That’s my latest read on the markets, following news of major new financing for 2 companies and a new Sino-foreign co-production deal in the hot video and movie-making sectors.
Up-and-coming online video operator Mango TV is at the center of the biggest news in terms of value, with media reporting it’s aiming to raise a hefty 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) in just its second funding round. Movie ticket booking app Weiying Shidai is in a smaller but still sizable fund-raising headline, with reports that it has just raised 1.5 billion yuan in its third funding round. Last but not least is word of a film co-production deal between local studio Huace (Shenzhen: 300133) and global giant Twenty-First Century Fox (Nasdaq: FOX). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 21-23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Aims for China Launch of App Play Store Next Year: Sources (English article)
China Restarts IPO Process for 10 Companies as Stocks Stabilize (English article)
Bottom line: A deal for Alibaba to buy a minority stake in Hong Kong’s SCMP looks logical despite dubious sourcing in reports on such talks, and could help to revive the group’s flagging fortunes by bringing in new partnerships and other resources.
Alibaba eyes traditional media with SCMP investment rumors
Just days after word emerged of a major shake-up in the newsroom of the South China Morning Post (HKEx: 583), new reports are saying that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba(NYSE: BABA) may be interested in a major investment or even outright purchase of Hong Kong’s leading English-language newspaper. Sourcing on the reports is quite flimsy, which I’ll describe shortly and makes me slightly dubious that such talks are happening.
But such a move also has a certain logic, since the SCMP’s current owner is reportedly looking to sell the newspaper that has a relatively modest current market value of about HK$2.8 billion ($360 million). What’s more, Alibaba has also been moving aggressively into the media and entertainment spaces, including its recent purchase of leading online video site Youku Tudou(NYSE: YOKU) and formation of a joint venture with a leading mainland financial newspaper. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Alibaba’s Youku Tudou purchase, its investment in a US online grocery store and its spat with JD mark a return to the headlines for the company following a quiet period, as it regains confidence following a piracy scandal early this year.
Alibaba invests in US online grocer
E-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) may have briefly gone into headline hibernation over the summer when its stock was in free-fall, but it’s quickly returning to a more familiar hyperactive mode as its Singles Day shopping extravaganza approaches this week. The company is in at least 2 M&A headlines as we head into the new week, announcing its signing of a formal deal to buy leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and reportedly nearing a deal to make a relatively big investment in a US online grocery site called Boxed.
Meantime, a recent spat between Alibaba and archrival JD.com(Nasdaq: JD) continues to make headlines just 2 days before Singles Day, which falls on November 11 and has rapidly grown to become the world’s busiest online shopping day. That spat burst into headlines last week and revolves around anti-competitive accusations made by JD, which has now also sued Alibaba for allegedly making inflated claims about its delivery service. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 700) in Talks to Borrow up to $1.5 Bln in Syndicated Loan (English article)
JD (Nasdaq: JD) Sues Alibaba for Misleading Users on Speedy Delivery (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 24-26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) CEO Says Negotiating with China on Local Production (English article)
Bottom line: LeTV’s latest hired car services investment and high-profile poaching of top talent from a rival look similar to the recent rapid rise and sputtering of Xiaomi, and the company could follow a similar trajectory by this time next year.
LeTV steals top talent from Youku Tudou
After watching the meteoric rise of online video sensation LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) over the past year, I’m quickly tiring of this company and its hyperactive diversification strategy. The latest move in that drive is taking LeTV onto the road, with word the company is investing a hefty $700 million for a controlling stake of struggling private car services firm Yidao Yongche.
At the same time, other media are reporting that LeTV has just stolen a top executive from chief rival Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU), which announced last week it has received a buyout offer from e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Anyone feeling a sense of deja vu from these latest 2 LeTV headlines, and from LeTV’s meteoric rise in general, would be correct. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Beijing needs to accelerate reform of traditional media in the face of rising challenges from players like Alibaba and Baidu, or risk seeing many of these state-run companies fall into irrelevance.
Alibaba challenges traditional media to speed up reform
A wave of mega-mergers sweeping through China’s Internet over the last 2 years saw its biggest deal to date announced late last week, when e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) offered $4.6 billion for the more than 80 percent of leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) it doesn’t already own. The move marked the latest challenge to China’s traditional media industry, which has been monopolized for years by state-run broadcasters and printed publications.
If this latest mega-deal gets completed, a new Youku Tudou with access to Alibaba’s cash and other vast resources will almost certainly accelerate its challenge to traditional media by aggressively rolling out compelling new on-demand products and premium content. Read Full Post…
