Sina Corp, which runs China’s leading microblog, has raised the stakes in the country’s online video and social media industry by buying into Tudou, the country’s second-largest online video company by revenues.
Sina paid $66m for a 9 per cent stake in Tudou, the company said in an SEC filing on Monday. Both Tudou and Sina said they expected to co-operate in the wake of the financial link-up.
A close alliance could strengthen Tudou against competitors such as Youku, the industry leader, and Qiyi, which is partly owned by Baidu, China’s largest online search engine by revenues. It could also reinvigorate Sina’s video offering as rivals have done better in this area.