時事新聞:優酷土豆宣佈合併?!
Inc, the country's top online video provider, agreed to buy its main rival, Tudou Holdings Ltd, in a stock-for-stock transaction, the two companies said. Increasing competition in China's online video market has pushed the two biggest players to a merger that will create the largest company in the industry. Inc, the country's top online video provider, agreed to buy its main rival, Tudou Holdings Ltd, in a stock-for-stock transaction, the two companies said. Although the two faced off earlier in a copyright dispute, their surprise merger appears to be a rational response to the problems that online video websites have in making ends meet, said analysts.
國內最大的兩個視頻網站優酷和土豆於3月12日共同宣佈，雙方已於3月11日簽訂最終協議，將以100%換股的方式合併。合併後的新公司叫做“優酷土豆有限公司”，但兩個網站在前端仍分開運營，整合只在後臺；兩家公司都將致力於將利潤最大化。在併購之前，優酷和土豆的資金壓力都非常巨大。優酷網雖然一直保持視頻領域第一的寶座，但是上市鉅額融資，並未實質性提高它的盈利水平。
The deal came as the companies were battling for market share, spending heavily to buy licensed content. "Funding pressures are the main reason for the deal," said Shi Jialong, a Hong Kong-based analyst with CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. The costly battle for dominance left both companies in the red last year. Youku reported a net loss of 172.1 million yuan ($27.2 million), though that was down 16 percent from the previous year, while Tudou had a net loss of 511.2 million yuan. "After the merger, there might be a fall in copyright purchase prices, which is good for the industry in the short term," Shi said. Xie Wen, a Chinese IT critic and former president of Yahoo China, agreed. However, he added that the new company still faced fierce competition with portals that provide similar services. Youku had 21.8 percent of China's online video market in the last quarter, followed by Tudou with 13.7 percent. They were closely followed by the portal Inc, with 13.3 percent, according to the domestic research company Analysys International. Other rivals in the segment include Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd. Xu Weifeng, president of PPStream Inc, an online video service provider, said the merger is good news for other players since they will have one less rival. However, the merging companies "are still under pressure from low profit margins, which must be resolved after the merger", he said. Youku's market value, at about $2.85 billion, is six times Tudou's.
優酷發佈的最新財報顯示，2011年實現淨收入8.976億元，較2010年增長132%；淨虧損爲人民幣1.721億元，較2010年減少16%。而此前土豆披露的財報顯示，2011年淨營收爲5.122億元，淨虧損爲5.112億元。有分析人士指出，優酷與土豆協議合併、名義換股以及相互持股，其弱化競爭和強化合作的意義大於合併，有利於降低雙方成本，尤其是視頻版權採購成本，提升視頻廣告價格和營收。
