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PR Newswire
07-05-2014, 11:16 AM
The M&A spree of "New China" continue...
Tencent to buy stake in digital mapping firm for S$234 million
SHANGHAI — Chinese Internet service provider Tencent Holdings will buy a stake in digital mapping company NavInfo for 1.17 billion yuan (S$234 million), after its rival, Alibaba Group Holding, earlier this year announced a deal to acquire an online map provider.
Tencent, owner of the WeChat instant messaging application, will buy 78 million NavInfo shares, an 11.3 per cent stake, from that company’s state-owned parent China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology, said a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing yesterday. The deal is pending regulatory approval.
Although the filing did not elaborate on how the two would cooperate, the tie-up could help Tencent track user locations, allowing it to pipe in advertisements for services nearby, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It could also help the company guide users to stores and restaurants where they could pay with Tencent’s mobile payment service on WeChat.
Mapping is becoming a vital battleground for the largest technology providers in the world, with companies such as Google and Apple stepping up investments. Last year, Google acquired Waze, which helps users navigate traffic with smartphones, for almost US$1 billion (S$1.25 billion). Apple, a newer player to the market, has made several acquisitions to improve its services, including deals for Locationary, HopStop and Embark.
Last month, China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, announced a similar move to acquire Autonavi Holdings in a deal that values the nation’s most popular mobile mapping provider at US$1.5 billion.
Alibaba, which is preparing for a United States initial public offering, is seeking to draw more of China’s 618 million Internet users with services for smartphones and tablet computers. Baidu, owner of China’s largest Internet search engine, has its own mapping service.
As of December, 81 per cent of all Internet users in China went online with mobile devices, said the official China Internet Network and Information Center. Agencies
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/tencent-...34-million
Tencent to buy stake in digital mapping firm for S$234 million
SHANGHAI — Chinese Internet service provider Tencent Holdings will buy a stake in digital mapping company NavInfo for 1.17 billion yuan (S$234 million), after its rival, Alibaba Group Holding, earlier this year announced a deal to acquire an online map provider.
Tencent, owner of the WeChat instant messaging application, will buy 78 million NavInfo shares, an 11.3 per cent stake, from that company’s state-owned parent China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology, said a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing yesterday. The deal is pending regulatory approval.
Although the filing did not elaborate on how the two would cooperate, the tie-up could help Tencent track user locations, allowing it to pipe in advertisements for services nearby, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It could also help the company guide users to stores and restaurants where they could pay with Tencent’s mobile payment service on WeChat.
Mapping is becoming a vital battleground for the largest technology providers in the world, with companies such as Google and Apple stepping up investments. Last year, Google acquired Waze, which helps users navigate traffic with smartphones, for almost US$1 billion (S$1.25 billion). Apple, a newer player to the market, has made several acquisitions to improve its services, including deals for Locationary, HopStop and Embark.
Last month, China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, announced a similar move to acquire Autonavi Holdings in a deal that values the nation’s most popular mobile mapping provider at US$1.5 billion.
Alibaba, which is preparing for a United States initial public offering, is seeking to draw more of China’s 618 million Internet users with services for smartphones and tablet computers. Baidu, owner of China’s largest Internet search engine, has its own mapping service.
As of December, 81 per cent of all Internet users in China went online with mobile devices, said the official China Internet Network and Information Center. Agencies
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/tencent-...34-million
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