Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Meizu Technology
Corporation Limited (“Meizu”) announced today that Alibaba Group has
agreed to invest US$590 million for a minority stake in Meizu, one of
China’s leading smartphone manufacturers.
This investment will be subject to customary closing conditions.
As a result of the investment, Alibaba Group and Meizu will collaborate
at both strategic and business levels to achieve a deeper integration of
Meizu’s hardware and Alibaba Group’s mobile operating system. Alibaba
Group will provide Meizu with resources and support in the fields of
e-commerce, mobile Internet, mobile operating system and data analysis
with the aim of developing Meizu’s smartphone ecosystem. Alibaba Group’s
online shopping marketplaces will also become distribution channels for
Meizu’s smartphones and other devices.
“The investment in Meizu represents a significant expansion of the
Alibaba Group ecosystem and an important step in our overall mobile
strategy as we strive to bring users a wider array of mobile offerings
and experiences,” said Jian WANG, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba
Group.
“This strategic collaboration with Alibaba Group will enable Meizu to
further develop our smartphone business and our smart devices
ecosystem,” said Meizu’s Chief Executive Officer, Yongxiang BAI.
Meizu is one of China’s leading smartphone manufacturers known for its
technology and sophisticated product design and features that fulfill
consumer needs and requirements. The Chinese smartphone market is
experiencing fast growth, with homegrown brands gaining an increasing
market share. At the end of 2014, China had more than one billion mobile
phone users and about 40 percent of them use smartphones, according to
IDC.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The
company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world
in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company
provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach
to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an
online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of
consumers and other businesses.
Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
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Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com),
China's largest online shopping destination
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Tmall.com (www.tmall.com),
China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
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Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com),
China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
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Alitrip (www.alitrip.com),
a leading online travel booking platform
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AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com),
a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
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Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com),
China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
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1688.com (www.1688.com),
a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
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Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com),
a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
About Meizu Technology Corporation Limited
Established in 2003, Meizu Technology Corporation Limited is a
well-known smartphone manufacturer, committed to designing smartphones
that are elegant, simple and easy to use. Since its inception, Meizu has
operated with "concentration”, “focus” and “professionalism" as its
guiding ethos. The company strives to devote resources in product
research and development in order to offer better products and services
to users. Meizu is committed to producing high quality products. In
2014, Meizu released a series of devices, namely the MX4, MX4 Pro, Meizu
Blue Charm Note and Meizu quad-core smartphones that were
enthusiastically received by the market.
Safe Harbor Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements
are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “aim,”
“expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “targets” and similar
statements. Among other things, statements that are not historical
facts, including statements about Alibaba’s beliefs and expectations,
the business outlook and quotations from management in this
announcement, as well as Alibaba’s strategic and operational plans, are
or contain forward-looking statements. Alibaba may also make written or
oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in press releases and
other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers,
directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following:
Alibaba’s goals and strategies; Alibaba’s future business development;
Alibaba’s ability to maintain the trusted status of its ecosystem,
reputation and brand; Alibaba’s ability to retain or increase engagement
of buyers, sellers and other participants in its ecosystem and enable
new offerings; Alibaba’s ability to successfully monetize traffic on its
mobile platform; risks associated with limitation or restriction of
services provided by Alipay; risks associated with increased investments
in Alibaba’s business; risks associated with acquisitions; privacy and
regulatory concerns; competition; security breaches; the continued
growth of the e-commerce market in China and globally; and fluctuations
in general economic and business conditions in China and globally and
assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further
information regarding these and other risks is included in Alibaba’s
filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is
as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions that
we believe to be reasonable as of this date, and Alibaba does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except
as required under applicable law.
Copyright Business Wire 2015