Alibaba Group is buying Kaola
Alibaba Group is buying Kaola, the import e-commerce platform owned by online gaming and entertainment company NetEase, for about $2 billion and taking a minority stake in NetEase Cloud Music, the two Hangzhou-based companies said.
Kaola will continue to operate independently under its current brand, with Tmall Import and Export General Manager Alvin Liu serving as Kaola’s new CEO.
In addition, Alibaba and Yunfeng Capital will together invest about $700 million in NetEase Cloud Music in its latest round of financing. NetEase will remain the controlling shareholder of NetEase Cloud Music following the closing of this transaction.
In a release, Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said the company is confident in the future of China’s import e-commerce market, saying it “remains in its infancy with great growth potential.”
NetEase CEO William Ding says the deal “will allow NetEase to focus on its growth strategy, investing in markets that allow us to best leverage our competitive advantages.”
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