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China: iQiyi denies rumors of merger with Youku Tudou

By  |  May 20, 2015

There are reports that streaming site Youku Tudou is planning a multi-billion-dollar merger with Baidu’s online video subsidiary iQiyi, and Tencent Video according to Billboard magazine.

China’s massive online video market is diverse, with a top five including LeTV, Tencent Video, Sohu.com, Youku Tudou and iQiyi and numerous small players, and analysts believe a merger is forthcoming.

Baidu, China’s biggest search engine, reportedly tried to arrange a tie-in between iQiyi and Youku Tudou several months ago, with iQiyi trading stock for an equivalent in Youku Tudou.

IQiyi chief executive Gong Yu took to his Sina Weibo account to deny the speculation.

“The news is completely false. IQiyi and the shareholders have never communicated or negotiated with Youku,” he wrote.

 

Full content: Billboard

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