China's privately-held Dalian Wanda Group is set to launch a $813 million e-commerce joint venture with domestic internet giants Tencent Holdings and Baidu Inc. The e-commerce venture, which will be 70% owned by Wanda and 15% held by Tencent and Baidu respectively, is set to be announced later this week. The vent
China's privately-held Dalian Wanda Group is set to launch a $813 million e-commerce joint venture with domestic internet giants Tencent Holdings and Baidu Inc.
The e-commerce venture, which will be 70% owned by Wanda and 15% held by Tencent and Baidu respectively, is set to be announced later this week.
The venture will unite three of China's most powerful non-state companies. For Wanda, the tie-up with Tencent and Baidu opens the door to new opportunities in the world's biggest e-commerce market as the rise of smartphones creates new business opportunities.
Wanda is a commercial property, luxury hotel and film conglomerate controlled by Wang Jianlin, China's wealthiest billionaire with a net worth of $16 billion according to Forbes.
Wanda, which bought U.S.-cinema operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc in 2012, operates 83 department stores in major cities throughout China.
Shenzhen-based Tencent, a social media and video games mammoth, is China's biggest listed internet firm with a market capitalization of $156 billion. Beijing-based Baidu is China's dominant search engine provider.