Tencent might invest in Youku Tudou

Tencent Inc is considering acquiring about a 20 percent stake in leading online video provider Youku Tudou Inc, media reports said Wednesday.

Tencent will pay no less than $300 million for the stake and Tencent's video website v.qq.com will also be transferred to Youku Tudou, news portal 163.com reported Wednesday.

Both Tencent and Youku Tudou declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the Global Times Wednesday.

However, citing a public relations employee at Tencent's video unit, Guangzhou-based newspaper Money Week reported Wednesday that the news is "mere rumor."

There had been market rumors earlier this month saying that both Tencent and e-commerce giant Alibaba are interested in investing in Youku Tudou, but neither of the two have admitted it.

Experts noted that compared with Alibaba, Tencent makes a better match with Youku Tudou, as Tencent already has its own video business and its leading position in the mobile Internet sector would also support Youku Tudou.

Youku Tudou has topped China's online video sector in 2013 in terms of user visits, followed by the video websites of Sohu and Baidu, according to a report from Internet consulting firm iResearch Consulting Group.

Tencent and its rival Alibaba have sped up acquiring quality assets recently.

Tencent said Wednesday it was buying a 28 percent stake in South Korean mobile gaming firm CJ Games for $500 million.

The purchase will help Tencent expand its profitable online and mobile gaming business and grow its presence abroad. CJ Games is an online and mobile games developer and publisher.

On March 10, Tencent announced it would acquire a 15 percent stake in e-commerce site jd.com and sold two of its online marketplaces to jd.com.

Tencent also announced it was buying a 20 percent stake in Yelp-like review website dianping.com in February.

Alibaba has also made several major stake purchases recently. On March 11, cultural firm ChinaVision Media Group said that Alibaba had agreed to buy a 60 percent stake in it.