China's Internet giants in acquisition spree

BEIJING - China's Internet giants have gone on a new acquisition spree in recent months as they ramp up efforts to diversify businesses amid the industry's constantly changing dynamics.

Alibaba, China's leading e-commerce firm, announced last week that it will pay $294 million for a 28-percent stake in digital mapping company AutoNavi Holdings Ltd.

Screenshots of the logo of Baidu and PPS, May 7, 2013. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

The move, following Alibaba's previous deal to take an 18-percent share in Sina Corp's microblogging service Weibo, is the giant's latest attempt to map out a strategy in the key mobile Internet market, in which major companies have been vying for presence.

Li Zhi, an analyst with Internet service provider Analysys, noted that rather than developing new products on their own, the Internet giants have preferred to make up for their weak areas through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to consolidate their positions.

Earlier this month, China's online search leader Baidu Inc. announced its plan to buy the online video business of PPS, to rival industry leader Youku Tudou, which was created last year through the merger of the country's two major video giants, Youku and Tudou.