Alibaba buys out online ticketing platform Damai

Reuters
An employee is seen behind a glass wall with the logo of Alibaba at the company's headquarters on the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, April 23, 2014. REUTERS/Chance Chan/Files

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has fully acquired online ticketing platform Damai.cn, the e-commerce giant said on Tuesday, marking a further push into entertainment by the firm as it expands beyond its core online retail business. "Ali announces its acquisition of Damai, part of our big entertainment strategy," the firm said on its Sina Weibo platform. Alibaba first invested in Damai in 2014. "This continues an earnest three-year romance." In a separate post Damai said it was happy to join the "Alibaba family". It also reposted a statement from a senior Alibaba executive saying this meant Alibaba now owned 100 percent of the firm. Alibaba said in a statement to Reuters that the full acquisition of Damai "fits nicely into our 'health and happiness' strategy and forms a strategic part of the value chain in our media and entertainment business." "Damai.cn will be a powerful platform to distribute our media content as well as expand our user reach and engagement," Alibaba said, adding there would be synergies with its own entertainment units Alibaba Music, Alibaba Pictures and Youku. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Stephen Coates)