New | Alibaba’s online ticketing business completes 1.7 billion yuan funding

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Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank's human-like robot named 'pepper' during a news conference in Chiba, Japan on June 18, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:44pm, 16 May 2016Updated: 5:44pm, 16 May 2016

Alibaba Pictures Group, the film entertainment arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is taking a further step into the booming movie market on the mainland by raising 1.7 billion yuan (HK$2 billion) for its online ticketing service Taobao Movie, the group announced on Sunday.

“[The investment will] sustain its [Taobao Movie] operations and further strengthen its market position in a competitive and fast developing business segment,” said Shao Xiaofeng, chairman of Alibaba Picture Group in a statement.

Led by major Chinese venture capital firm CDH Investments, Ant Financial Services Group, which spun off from Alibaba and Chinese internet portal Sina.com, the investment raised the valuation of Taobao Movie to 13.7 billion yuan (HK$16.3 billion).

A man walks past a sign for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. displayed at the company's offices in Hong Kong, China, on May 5, 2016. Photo: Bloomberg

The group also aimed at incorporating industry resources by including investment from major Chinese production and distribution companies such as Hehe Pictures, BONA Film, and Huace Media.

The funding round is the latest of a series of expansion moves of the group. Last week it made a 1 billion yuan (HK$1.19 billion) investment into Dadi Cinema, the second-largest cinema investment and management company after Wanda Cinemas from Chinese property conglomerate Wanda Group.

“The O2O Platform is an integral part of the group’s promotion and distribution business,” Shao said. O2O refers to “online to offline” internet services such as group-buying and online ticketing.