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DJ Alibaba Going Hollywood? -- Barron's Blog


10:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time Oct 22, 2014



By Shuli Ren

To e-commerce operators worldwide, having 80% of China's e-commerce market is an enviable position. But Alibaba ( BABA) does not seem content just being that. It wants to be an integrated Internet company, dominating people's eyeballs and wallets.

Bloomberg reported that Alibaba will be meeting with Hollywood studios to discuss distribution rights or even equity investments:



Alibaba founder Ma will meet in coming days with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF), Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Viacom Inc. (VIAB)'s Paramount Pictures, Time Warner Inc. (TWX)'s Warner Bros., Sony Corp. (SNE) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)'s Universal, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Hangzhou, China-based Alibaba will seek deals that give it the right to distribute U.S. movies and TV shows at home, or invest in studio stakes, the people said.



Alibaba's recent acquisition track record gives credence to this news clip. The e-commerce has made four major media acquisitions since this April. In April, it took a 20% stake in Wasu, a digital media advertising company. In May, it took a 16.5% stake in China's YouTube Youku Tudou (YOKU). In June, it bought a 60% stake in ChinaVision (1060.HK), now named Alibaba Pictures Group, which engages in TV and film production in China. And here is the best part: In July, it bought half of Evergrande Football Club, the first-ever winner of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Cup. (OK, Chinese soccer teams are not very good but this does not seem to deter the millions of fervent soccer fans across China.)

Buying media assets seems the trend among big Internet companies. This month, Softbank (9984.TO), which owns about 1/3 of Alibaba, agreed to buy Korea's DramaFever, which offers Korean TV programs online for English-language viewers.

Alibaba closed at $91.63 on Wednesday, down 2.4% from the first day's pop.


More at Barron's Asia Stocks to Watch blog, http://blogs.barrons.com/asiastocks/


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2014 22:56 ET (02:56 GMT)

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