Giant Invests USD 51 Mln in 51.com
Tencent Tech, 7/01/08
Online game developer and operator Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) and Chinese social networking service 51.com signed an agreement in Shanghai today under which Giant will purchase a 25% stake in the site for USD 51 mln. 51.com said that Giant's purchase brought to a close 51.com's third round of financing. The company will not look to raise any further capital, and aims to list in 2010. Another company with a state-owned background participated in the third round of financing, but contributed a comparatively small amount.
51.com and Giant will implement user account interoperability between their sites, and will ultimately permit interoperability between the two sites' payment systems.
Editor's Note: According to a Sina report, 51.com chairman and CEO Pang Shengdong revealed that his company plans to move into the online gaming market this year, and is preparing to invest USD 10 to 20 mln to back its plans in the area. Sohu IT reports that as of June 15th, 51.com boasted approximately 120 mln registered users, with 31.5 mln individual visitors to the site per month, each visitor averaging 18 logins monthly. The site receives approximately 350 mln pageviews per day, or more than 10 bln pageviews per month. Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) and Alibaba also expressed a desire to purchase shares in this round of financing.
Keywords: funding statistics 51.com Alibaba GA Giant Interactive Internet online gaming Pang Shengdong registered users Shanda SNDA investment SNS third-round Web 2.0
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