Alibaba to acquire all outstanding shares in Youku

Photo taken on October 29, 2014 shows the logo of Youku Tudou(left) and Alibaba Group.[Photo/IC]

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Friday that it was planning to acquire all the remaining shares that it does not own in Youku Tudou Inc for cash.

The company made a non-binding proposal to acquire the shares in Youku Tudou, a major online streaming video site for $26.60 per American depositary shares in an all-cash transaction.

Shares in Youku Tudou closed on Thursday at $20.43.

According to ft.com, Alibaba said it had made the proposal with the support of the founding shareholders of Youku, including Victor Koo, Chengwei Capital and their affiliates.

In May 2014, Alibaba made an initial strategic investment in Youku and owns 18.3 percent of the outstanding share capital of Youku based on Youku's public filings.