Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA has invested $382.67 million in TV program producer Beijing Enlight Media Co Ltd.
Alibaba made an investment of more than $3.1 billion in the entertainment industry last year. This new investment highlights the company’s effort to expand into film and entertainment content.
Besides selling physical goods to Chinese consumers, the executives of Alibaba want to sell digital content and entertainment also. This comprises film, television and video games.
Prior to this, Alibaba had invested in video games, online video streaming sites, sports, Internet TV hardware and film production.
In the regulatory filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange, Enlight Media said that it has sold 2.8 billion yuan in shares privately. Out of this, Shanghai Enlight Investment Holdings Co Ltd purchased 400 million yuan worth of shares while Hangzhou Ali Venture Capital Co Ltd, the venture capital arm of Alibaba, bought the remaining.
The shares were sold for 24.22 yuan each.
Alibaba declined to comment.
Looking Ahead
The deal indicates the Chinese Internet giant’s continuous efforts to make a mark in online entertainment as it seeks to attract more users to its platforms.
In China, the world’s second-largest movie market in terms of revenues after the U.S., Internet users are watching more movies and videos online, motivating industry players to work more closely with film companies.
Chinese Internet giants Baidu BIDU, Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY and JD.com JD are leaving no stone unturned to make a mark in the entertainment sector.
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