Deals
Alibaba Bets $590 Million on Becoming Smartphone Player
Alibaba Bets $590M on Becoming a Smartphone Player
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is betting $590 million it can succeed where Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have stumbled -- becoming a player in the smartphone business.
Alibaba’s investment in Meizu Technology Corp. gives the e-commerce giant a key tool in its push to unlock more money from China’s half a billion smartphone users. Along with the proposed minority stake in Zhuhai, China-based Meizu, Alibaba gains a platform for its homegrown operating system, YunOS, the companies said in a statement.