Alibaba Group takes majority control of loss-making movie unit Alibaba Pictures with $160M share purchase

Alibaba Group announced today that it will increase its stake in Alibaba Pictures from 49 percent to 50.92 percent, making it the loss-making movie production company's controlling shareholder. Under the agreement, Alibaba Pictures will issue one billion new shares, priced at HKD 1.25 each share for a total of HKD 1.25 billion (about $160 million), to Alibaba Group. The announcement of Alibaba Group’s new share purchases comes the week after Alibaba Pictures chairman and chief executive officer Fan Luyuan took charge of Youku, Alibaba Group’s video streaming unit, after its former president Yang Weidong stepped down.