Yahoo earnings plummet as investors wait for Alibaba share sale April 21, 2015 The figures Yahoo fell short of Wall Street’s earnings expectations in the first quarter of 2015, posting earnings per share of $0.15 below the predicted $0.18. Shares in the technology company immediately dropped two per cent in after-hours trading as investors swallowed a 93.3 per cent fall in net earnings from $312m (£208.9m) to $21m. [...]
Alibaba acquires Chinese distribution rights to BMG artists including Rolling Stones, John Legend and Kings of Leon March 30, 2015 Alibaba has signed a digital distribution deal with German music rights company BMG, bringing over 2.5m copyrights of artists such as The Rolling Stones, will.i.am and Foo Fighters to the Chinese e-commerce giant. For BMG, the deal represents a chance to make its artists accessible to a potentially vast Chinese market while for Alibaba it [...]
Alibaba just invested in Snapchat: Four charts showing just how big its new $15bn valuation is March 12, 2015 Everyone’s favourite disappearing messaging app, Snapchat, has raised a new round of funding from Alibaba which values the firm at $15bn (£10bn). It’s a vote of confidence for the four-year-old app, which has just introduced a host of content-driven advertising features in a bid to start generating some revenue. The app picked up $200m from [...]
So meta: Amazon just opened an online store on Alibaba March 6, 2015 Amazon and Alibaba may be a hair away to declaring themselves official arch-nemeses, but that hasn't prevented the US online retail giant from making the most of the opportunities presented by its rival. Amazon has opened a shop on Alibaba's Tmall, the Chinese tech giant's equivalent of, er, Amazon. What does it all mean? Amazon's [...]
Alibaba will invest in Jackie Chan movies February 11, 2015 Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Chinese superstar Jackie Chan have become unlikely business partners. Not content with domination of China’s e-commerce market, Alibaba’s investments are now seeping into the multiplex. Alibaba’s digital entertainment crowdfunding platform Yule Bao is a minority investor in Chan’s forthcoming “Dragon Blade”, a $65m (£42.5m) epic that has [...]
Alibaba moves into smartphone market with £400m investment February 9, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has bought a $590m (£388m) minority stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu. The move signals Alibaba’s first major foray into smartphone hardware as it looks to build a platform for its YunOS mobile operating system. In a joint statement, the two companies said they will collaborate “to achieve [...]
Alibaba share price down in pre-market trading as Chinese etailer disappoints January 29, 2015 Alibaba's share price was down more than eight per cent in pre-market trading today as the Chinese etailing giant released below-expectations quarterly figures. The figures: Revenues in the three months to December 31 rose 40 per cent to $4.2bn (£2.8bn), while income was up just six per cent to $1.5bn. Analysts were expecting revenues [...]
Yahoo to spin-off remaining Alibaba stake January 27, 2015 YAHOO boss Marissa Mayer (pictured) said last night it plans to spin off its 15 per cent stake in China’s Alibaba as the group posted a 52 per cent drop in fourth quarter earnings to $166m (£109m). Shares jumped after hours as traders welcomed the move, which will help Yahoo avoid a large tax bill [...]
Yahoo to spin off Alibaba shares in wake of shareholder pressure January 27, 2015 Internet giant Yahoo will spin off its shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in a tax-free transaction. Yahoo currently owns 15 per cent of Alibaba group and will create another company made up of its stake worth around £26bn. Yahoo shareholders will receive all of the company's 384m Alibaba shares. "Yahoo believes this transaction will [...]
Video: Alibaba founder Jack Ma at Davos January 23, 2015 Even by his standards, Asia's richest man, Jack Ma, had a busy year in 2014, after he presided over the biggest-ever global IPO when his company, Alibaba, raised $25bn. Today Ma kicked off this morning's programmed at the 2015 meeting of the World Economics Forum to discuss leadership, entrepreneurship and the future of commerce with [...]