Reuters – Alibaba Takes Stake in AutoNavi Holdings

Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce firm, will take a 28 percent stake in digital mapping company AutoNavi Holdings Ltd, part of Alibaba's move to boost its competitveness by beefing up its product lineup, Reuters wrote. Unlisted Alibaba will invest $294 million to become the largest shareholder in the Chinese-based firm, according to a statement from AutoNavi on Friday which confirmed an earlier report from news portal Sina. The move comes after Alibaba, which competes with Tencent Holidings, acquired an 18 percent stake in Sina Corp's microblogging service Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, at the end of April.

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