China just got its equivalent of the Google/YouTube acquisition, as one of its biggest internet firms Alibaba agreed to pay $3.7bn for online video service Youku Tudou.
“We are eager to work with Alibaba to grow our multi-screen entertainment and media ecosystem,” said Youku Tudou boss Victor Koo in a statement. “We are confident that we will strengthen our market position and further accelerate our growth through the integration of our advertising and consumer businesses with Alibaba’s platform and Alipay services.”
Alibaba already owned a one-fifth stake in the video service according to the Wall Street Journal. According to Youku Tudou’s latest financial results filed in the US, it generated revenues of $680.7m in 2014 while recording a net loss of $135m. Its twin Youku and Tudou platforms attracted 256m and 169m monthly users respectively that year, during which their combined daily mobile views reached 900m.
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