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Baidu’s $3.6B Purchase Of JOYY’s YY Live In Chinese Crosshairs

By  |  September 26, 2021

China’s antitrust regulator is unlikely to approve Baidu’s US$3.6 billion acquisition of JOYY ‘s video-based domestic live streaming business YY Live, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

This follows Beijing’s move to rein in gaming-related businesses and corporate expansion via deals, they said.

The Baidu-JOYY deal would be the latest multi-billion dollar transaction to stumble amid China’s broad crackdown on private companies, notably those in the internet sector, as Beijing seeks to control big data and break down monopolistic practices.

A failure of the Baidu deal could cast a shadow over a separate planned transaction to take Nasdaq-listed JOYY private that would have valued it at up to US$8 billion, said the sources and two other sources who are familiar with the matter.

Chinese search engine giant Baidu announced in November it would buy YY Live from social media firm JOYY, paying cash to help diversify revenue sources.

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