DoCoMo Buys 20% Stake in Baidu Yixin
DoCoMo announces it will take 20% of Baidu Yixin, JV w/leading Beijing-based web search provider, for approx. $22.5M: http://bit.ly/P4aQQI
DOCOMO, INC., Japan’s leading mobile operator and provider of integrated services centered on mobility, announced today that it has completed its investment of 22.5 million USD* (1.78 billion yen)–equivalent to 20 percent ownership–in Baidu Yi Xin Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., its joint venture with the leading Chinese language Internet search provider Baidu, Inc.
DOCOMO and Baidu agreed on January 31, 2011, to jointly provide value-added services and digital content for mobile phones in mainland China. The companies are pursuing this initiative through Baidu Yi Xin.
Baidu Yi Xin is a content platform provider for mobile phones. Moving forward, the company will enhance its services and content by leveraging DOCOMO’s extensive experience in providing value-added services with Baidu’s strong brand image and user base.
Starting in August, Baidu Yi Xin plans to provide content from Japan on its platform. For the first batch, the company will collaborate with DeNA Co., Ltd., a major Japanese provider of social games, e-commerce and other Web services, and its Chinese subsidiary to distribute Japan-made content localized for the Chinese market.
Through this joint venture and other initiatives, DOCOMO is actively expanding Chinese market access for Japanese service and content providers.