Baidu Confirms $370M Purchase Of PPS, Underscoring Online Video's Importance For Internet Companies Around The World

After weeks of rumors, Baidu finally confirmed today that it has acquired the online video business of Shanghai-based PPS for $370 million. PPS will be merged into iQiyi, Baidu’s video platform Baidu, to form China’s largest online video platform by the number of mobile users and video viewing time. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013. PPS will continue to operate as a brand of iQiyi. The deal allows Baidu to step up its competition with video platform Youku-Tudou. At the end of last month, before Baidu had officially announced the deal, Youku-Tudou president Dele Liu made a statement about his company’s competitors: “After the success and synergy created by the Youku Tudou merger, increasing consolidation was inevitable throughout the video industry. We are happy to see this purchase go forward, we expect this acquisition will further rationalize the industry and help reduce piracy in the sector.” Despite the somewhat cheeky tone of Liu’s comment, the ...

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