Alibaba buys US$383m stake in TV programme producer Beijing Enlight

[SHANGHAI] Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has invested 2.4 billion yuan (S$530.44 million) in TV programme producer Beijing Enlight Media Co Ltd, Beijing Enlight said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

The move follows investments by Alibaba worth more than US$3.1 billion in the entertainment industry last year as the company aggressively expands into film and entertainment content.

Alibaba executives have laid out a vision of selling not only physical products to Chinese consumers, but also digital content and entertainment, including film, television and video games. The world's largest e-commerce company has invested in online video streaming sites, internet TV hardware, sports, film production and video games.

Enlight Media said in the filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange that of the 2.8 billion yuan in shares it sold privately, Shanghai Enlight Investment Holdings Co Ltd bought 400 million yuan worth and Hangzhou Ali Venture Capital Co Ltd, the venture capital arm of Alibaba, bought the rest.

Bookbuilding took place on March 2 and the shares were sold for 24.22 yuan each, it said.

An Alibaba spokeswoman responded to media queries by referring to the filing and declined to give further details. Reuters was unable to reach Shanghai Enlight for comment.

REUTERS