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Alibaba, Tencent teaming up in US$15b deal: sources

Merger may allow longtime rivals to divide China's most promising Internet businesses between them

Published Thu, Oct 8, 2015 · 09:50 PM

Hong Kong

JACK Ma and Pony Ma, whose business rivalry dates back more than a decade, are starting to look like the best buddies of China's Internet.

Jack, founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and Pony, founder of Tencent Holdings Ltd, are said to be joining forces for the second time this year by combining two startups that they have financed in a US$15 billion deal. Meituan.com, the one partly owned by Alibaba, and Dianping. com, backed by Tencent, have been competing to offer local services online. They could announce a merger as soon as Thursday, people familiar with the matter said.