Alibaba has acquired online shopping platform Kaola from Nasdaq-listed NetEase for $2bn, creating the largest cross-border ecommerce platform in China. The acquisition will also see both companies, ostensibly rivals, collaborate further on digital entertainment in a bid to take on Tencent Music Entertainment, with Alibaba buying a $700m minority stake in NetEase Cloud Music as part of the company’s latest funding round. The Kaola acquisition marks a step towards consolidation and further strengthens Alibaba’s dominant position in cross-border commerce.
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