Chinese Media Stocks Mixed After Alibaba-Yoku Tudou Buyout - Alibaba Gr Holding (NYSE:BABA), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Shares of Youku Tudou Inc (ADR) YOKU soared higher by more than 20 percent
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA announced its intention to acquire the remaining stake in Youku it doesn't already own for $26.60 per ADR.
Shares of Chinese media firms surged in sympathy.

Shares of Youku Tudou, A Chinese based Internet television company, soared higher by more than 20 percent after Alibaba announced its intention to acquire the remaining 81.7 percent of the company it doesn't already own for $26.60 per ADR. By acquiring Youku, Alibaba will increase its presence in the Chinese streaming video market. The Chinese government blocks access to YouTube while

Netflix, Inc.NFLX

's expansion to the heavily censored market is still uncertain, at least according to the company's CFO David Wells who

said

"we're taking our time and being deliberate in finding a path and the right model to work." W.R. Hambrecth + Co analyst Henry Guo

stated that firms including Baidu Inc (ADR) BIDU and Sohu.com Inc SOHU are the biggest losers following Alibaba's proposed transaction. Shares of Baidu were nearly flat early Friday afternoon. The company's $52 billion market cap dwarfs Youku's $4.88 billion market cap. However, Alibaba's $180 billion market cap makes it the clear dominant leader in the Chinese technology space. Shares of Sohu were trading higher by 1.60 percent early Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, shares of SINA Corp SINA, an online media company that serves both the domestic Chinese population and international Chinese communities, surged higher by more than seven percent. It is possible that investors and traders were speculating the firm's $2.5 billion market cap makes it a potential acquisition target. The same may prove to be true for Weibo Corp (ADR) WB, a social media platform with a $3.21 billion market. Shares outperformed those of Sina as the stock was higher by nearly 13 percent.

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