Alibaba Pictures Group, the movie unit of Alibaba Group Holding, has agreed to buy a company supplying cinema-ticketing system for 830 million yuan ($134 million), the Beijing Times reported.
According to the news site, Guangdong Yueke Software Engineering Company was acquired by Zhong Lian Sheng Shi Culture, Alibaba Pictures subsidiary, through an open bidding at China's Southern United Assets & Equity Exchange on April 20.
The report added that Guangdong Yueke, formerly owned by state-run Yueke Technology Financial Group, supplies connecting software systems to more than 30 online movie-ticketing platforms including Tencent Holdings, Alipay, and Meituan, and also works with more than 1,000 theaters.
As agreed, state-owned Guangdong Technology Venture Investment Corporation, which oversees Guandong Yueke, can repurchase 20 to 30 percent of Yueke within nine months after the new corporate records have been registered, the report said.
Trading of Alibaba Pictures shares halted on April 20, Monday, but rose to 14.9 percent when trading resumed on April 22, Wednesday.
Alibaba Group has been expanding its line of entertainment services as the company continues to seek new businesses outside e-commerce. On April 8, the group decided to infuse its online movie-ticketing business and its movie production crowdfunding businesses into the Alibaba Pictures Unit.
The report said that the purchase of Yueke would enable Alibaba Pictures to work with more movie theaters and connect them with hundreds of millions of users with the use of the company's e-commerce platforms.
The purchase of Yueke would also increase the value of Alibaba Pictures, in which Alibaba Group has 60 percent stake. Profits of Alibaba Pictures dropped by more than 60 percent last year and the company reported a loss of 417 million yuan ($67.2 million).