O2O

Alibaba Group will spend $3.6 billion to take control of Chinese supermarket giant Sun Art

Alibaba Group said today it will spend about $3.6 billion to take a controlling stake in Sun Art, one of China’s largest big-box and supermarket chains. After the transaction is complete, Alibaba Gr

Alibaba invests about $635M in Red Star Macalline, one of China’s largest furniture sellers

Alibaba Group has acquired about RMB 4.36 billion ($635 million) worth of convertible bonds in Red Star Macalline, one of China’s biggest furniture retailers. If converted, this would give Alibaba a

Meituan-Dianping’s IPO off to a good start as shares climb 7% on debut

Meituan-Dianping (3690.HK) enjoyed a strong debut today in Hong Kong, a sign that investors are confident in the Tencent-backed company’s prospects despite its cash-burning growth strategy, heavy co

Maoyan, China’s largest online movie ticket service, files to go public in Hong Kong

Tencent-backed Maoyan Weiying, China’s largest online movie ticketing service, has filed for a public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company, which submitted a prospectus under the na

Meituan reportedly targets $55B valuation for Hong Kong IPO, leading to concerns that may be too high

Meituan-Dianping is reportedly aiming for a $55 billion valuation in its upcoming initial public offering in Hong Kong, but the company’s net losses and increasing competition from Alibaba are a

Taiwan startup FunNow gets $5M Series A to help locals in Asian cities find last-minute things to do

“Instant booking” apps that let tourists sign up for activities on very short notice have been in the news a lot lately, partly because of Klook’s new unicorn status, but also because of the pro

Meituan, the Tencent-backed ‘one-stop super app,’ files for IPO in Hong Kong

After months of speculation, Meituan, the largest service booking app in China, confirmed that it has filed for a public offering. The company’s IPO application was submitted to the Hong Kong stock

Alibaba to buy all remaining outstanding shares of local delivery service Ele.me

As expected since February, Alibaba will buy all outstanding shares of Ele.me that it doesn’t already own. Best-known for food deliveries, Ele.me claims to be China’s biggest online delivery and l

Latin America’s chronic inefficiency could drive more O2O commerce growth

There are numerous daily tasks that can be solved with ease in the U.S. In comparison, the lack of training, standardization and process in Brazil creates chronic inefficiencies in the service sector

Alibaba Pictures raises $260M for its online movie ticket platform

Alibaba Pictures, the film and television subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has raised a 1.7 billion RMB (about $260 million) Series A for its online ticketing platform, Taobao Movie. According to a filing

Tencent Strikes Strategic Partnership With Indoor Mapping Startup Sensewhere

Chinese Internet giant Tencent, the maker of WeChat, has pinned down a strategic investment with indoor mapping startup sensewhere. The total amount of the deal was undisclosed, but the companies said

Baidu Issues Disappointing Q3 Forecast As It Invests Heavily In O2O Services

Baidu is focusing aggressively on online-to-offline (O2O) sales, one of the hottest forms of e-commerce in China, but its near-term earnings growth is still under pressure. The company’s shares drop

Alibaba And Subsidiary Ant Financial Plow Almost $1B Into A New Online-To-Offline Joint Venture

Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce and providing ultra-speedy local deliveries are two of Alibaba’s main growth targets. Now the e-commerce giant is significantly increasing its commitment to both ver

Alibaba Invests In Israeli Startup Visualead For Its QR Code Technology

To many U.S. consumers, QR codes already seem like a quaint tech relic, but they continue to be very popular in China. So it’s not a huge surprise that Visualead, an Israeli startup that specializes

FreeCharge, Which Gives Users Coupons For Charging Their Mobile Plans, Raises $33M Series B

FreeCharge, an India-based online platform that lets user earn coupons when they add money to their prepaid mobile phone plans or pay utility bills online, has raised a $33 million Series B from retur

Bindo Raises $1.8M To Help Small Brick-And-Mortar Stores Go Online

The growth of e-commerce behemoths like <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com">Amazon</a> and the convenience they offer to shoppers have been especially hard on local brick-and-mortar stores

Alibaba Will Pay $692M For 35% Stake In Retail Operator Intime

Alibaba has agreed to pay $692 million for a 35% stake in Intime Retail, which operates department stores throughout China. The two companies will form a joint initiative to focus on offline-to-online

Touchten Adds Offline Rewards, Ropes In TMS Entertainment As An Investor

Touchten, a Jakarta-based mobile games startup, announced today that it plans to add an online-to-offline (O2O) feature to its games, which it hopes will attract and engage users who don't use credit