Jack Ma to acquire 20 pct of Wasu Media

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, and partners will pay 6.5 billion yuan (about 1 billion US dollars) for a 20 percent stake in Wasu Media Holding, a Wasu statement said on Tuesday evening.

Alibaba and Wasu Digital TV Media Group, dominant shareholders of the Wasu Media Holding Co. Ltd, signed a strategic cooperation agreement on Tuesday, according to a statement delivered to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The other partners include Shi Yuzhu, founder of Giant Interactive Group Inc. and Simon Xie, co-founder of Alibaba.

Capital raised will be used to develop original content and expand Wasu's Internet TV terminals.

China's leading Internet companies, including Alibaba's rivals Tencent and Baidu, have started acquiring mobile application developers and online video platforms to access opportunities through smartphones, tablets and Internet TV screens.

Wasu Media Holding Co. Ltd primarily engages in the new media and cable television business in China. It was listed in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2012.

According to the China Internet Network Information Center, China had about 500 million mobile Internet users, 81 percent of all web users, as of the end of 2013.