Alibaba makes another move into cultural sector with Wasu purchase

China's largest e-commerce company Alibaba Group reached an agreement with Zhejiang-based Wasu Group to further tap into the cultural and new media sector, Alibaba said in a statement posted on Weibo on Tuesday.

The two companies will cooperate in the development of original content, online gaming and music, as well as the cloud computing sector, Alibaba said.

Wasu Media Holding Co, Wasu's listed arm on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, announced late Tuesday that investment company Hangzhou Yunxi Investment Co has agreed to buy 20 percent stake in the company at the price of 6.5 billion yuan ($1.05 billion).

Yuxi Investment is controlled by Jack Ma Yun, chairman and founder of Alibaba, and Shi Yuzhu, founder of Giant Interactive Group Inc.

"As a leader in cable television and new media in China, Wasu could help Alibaba to further expand its presence in the family Internet sector," Alibaba said in the statement.

The number of Wasu's cable TV users has reached 20 million, which Alibaba claims makes it the "largest" cable TV network in China, with 15 million users in East China's Zhejiang Province and 5 million in other provinces.

This is the second move by Alibaba recently to get into the cultural and media sector. Alibaba Investment, an investment arm of Alibaba Group, had agreed to buy a 60 percent stake of ChinaVision for around $800 million on March 11.

On March 16, Alibaba announced that it is seeking a listing on the US capital market. Experts have said they believe that Alibaba partly aims to raise the company's valuation at IPO by making the recent series of acquisitions.