SINGAPORE/BEIJING: Baidu Inc, China's top Internet search engine, said on Tuesday that it would buy app store 91 Wireless for US$1.9bil (RM6.03bil), as it looks to diversify beyond its mainstay search business and beef up its presence in the mobile sector.
The planned acquisition follows Baidu's announcement in May that it would buy the online video business of PPS Net TV for US$370mil (RM1.17bil). Chinese rivals Tencent and Alibaba Group are also investing to stimulate revenue growth, with Alibaba this year buying stakes in Sina Corp's social-networking website Weibo and in navigation and maps firm AutoNavi.