Sina Corp. is reportedly negotiating with Alibaba for the terms of the acquisition, in the hope of a possible tie-up. (Photo : www.theepochtimes.com)
The country’s Internet titan Alibaba Group Holding is planning to acquire Sina Corp., the leading local Internet media firm, as the two companies were reportedly negotiating the terms of the acquisition.
The Global Times reported that neither company gave a comment when contacted on Thursday, Nov.5.
According to news portal huanqiu.com, Sina had deferred the hiring of experienced staff to allow it to integrate and optimize its businesses. Sina CEO Cao Guowei, however, denied the information on his Sina Weibo account on Wednesday, saying he had heard nothing of any such action.
The report said that the two companies have been cooperating for a long time. In September, Alibaba, together with Sina, set up the Alibaba Sports Group with the aim to reshape China's sports industry through the Internet. Alibaba reportedly owned a majority stake in the joint company.
In April 2013, Alibaba invested $586 million to gain 18 percent stake in Sina's Weibo microblogging service.
Sina Weibo has added e-commerce features to its platform recently, with direct links to Taobao and TMall, two of Alibaba's main online shopping platforms.
"Alibaba's online shopping platforms will acquire more users if a merger is achieved, considering that Sina has a solid user base," Yu Ming, the chairman of ZC, a Beijing-based Internet communication group, told the Global Times on Thursday. "This may be the biggest driving force for Alibaba behind this merger."
Yu also noted that if shoppers could go directly to Taobao or TMall by simply clicking on advertisements on Sina's pages, the company could attract more advertisers and increase its sales.
Yu added that Sina needs a large, strong partner due to its continuous business decline. "As China's Internet giant, Alibaba is certainly a good choice," Yu said.
A report released by Beijing-based consultancy Analysys in October showed that Sina's app had 23.2 million active users as of August, ranking sixth among the news apps of China's main news Web portals.
