CDC Coporation's (CHINA) subsidiary China.com says it has acquired a 5% interest in Beijing Menlo Network Science Limited, the owner and operator of online community Menllo.com.
Under the terms of the agreement, China.com will provide Menllo.com with strategic market coverage for one year in exchange for the interest. China.com will have the right to appoint a director to the Board of Menllo.com and will have the option to increase its holdings in Menllo.com in the future.
With a large and fast growing user base across China, Menllo.com is a platform that empowers individuals to share music, videos, journals, photos, whiteboards and more with their friends, and find people with common interests. It is a popular online destination for emerging musicians, writers, photographers, and a variety of other talents.
By collaborating with China.com, much of the user-generated content on Menllo.com will also be made available on mobile phones through CDC Mobile's 3G services.
This investment by China.com will enable CDC Mobile, a leading provider of mobile value-added services (MVAS) in China and a business unit of CDC Corporation, to become one of the first movers in integrating Web 2.0 content with 3G services in China. By building a mobile Web 2.0, CDC Mobile plans to significantly increase its portfolio of highly demanded content to grow the company's sources of revenue.
"Creating communities, by empowering individuals, is truly revolutionary for today's online world in China," said Donglei Fang, acting COO of China.com. "For CDC Mobile, we believe that creating a mobile Web 2.0 through 3G will create a significant growth opportunity for us. Through this investment, we can further diversify our user base by
attracting creative, user-generated content from China's huge talent pool, and subsequently increase online traffic and mobile downloads. More importantly, by embracing mobile web 2.0 and making strategic inroads in the vast 3G market, we will be able to further consolidate CDC Mobile's leadership position and enable future growth."
