If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, consider YouTube flattered.
In a joint move, Alibaba, a Chinese ecommerce company, and Yunfeng Capital, a Chinese private equity firm, purchased a $1.22 billion stake in Youku Tudou, a Chinese online video provider similar to Google-owned YouTube.
This move comes at an important time for Alibaba, as it is preparing to file for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. Alibaba, which is said to be worth around $150 billion, could raise as much as $15 billion on its U.S. IPO.
If that prediction holds true, Yahoo, which owns a 24 percent stake in Alibaba (possibly its answer to Google's Yahoo), would see their assets in the company sky-rocket up to $42 billion. According to theirnetworth.com, Yahoo's total Net Worth is around $35 billion. This means that Yahoo's stake in Alibaba would be worth more than their own company.