Jack Ma joins $1b investment in VC-backed Wasu Media

According to a regulatory filing, Hangzhou Yunxi Investment Partnership, an investment vehicle controlled by Ma and Simon Xie, co-founder of Alibaba, will subscribe to 286 million shares issued by Wasu Media at RMB22.8 apiece.

Yuzhu Shi, founder of online games developer Giant Interactive Group, also has a 1% stake in the vehicle.

Alibaba and Wasu will support each other in areas such as original content development, video communication, games, music, and education, cloud computing and big data, according to a separate statement.

Shenzhen-listed Wasu holds a license to operate internet TV services in China with more than 8 million registered users. As of year-end 2013, about 80% of 618 million internet users in China went online via mobile devices.

In July, Alibaba teamed up with Wasu to launch a smart TV set-top box called Wasu Rainbow to expand into internet TV business.

According to AVCJ Research, China Culture Industry Investment Fund Management invested an undisclosed sum in Wasu in 2012. Last year, Zhejiang Shinkansen Media Investment paid RMB48.32 million for a 5% stake in the company via its Eastern Starry Sky Culture Fund.

This is not the first time that Alibaba invested in a media company. Last month, it bought 60% of Hong Kong-listed ChinaVision Media Group - in which rival Tencent Holding and VC firm Sequoia Capital are current shareholders - for HK$6.24 billion ($804 million).

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