Jack Ma, Jet Li look to become Chinese 'Warner Brothers'
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is looking to increase cooperation with Hollywood, according to Chinese media.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma will reportedly lead a team of company executives, accompanied by Kungfu star Jet Li, to Los Angeles at the end of this month.
Ma will meet with numbers of studios, including Lions Gate, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Universal, and Sony Corp. to seek deals that could give Alibaba the right to distribute US movies and TV shows in China, or invest in studio stakes, according to Bloomberg.
Alibaba, who obtained the world's biggest initial public offering in September, is looking to diversify its investments into areas such as the culture and entertainment industry.
Earlier in July, the giant cooperated with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to launch subscription-based video streaming services in China, China Daily reported.
In April, it bought an 18.5 percent stake in Chinese video streaming website Youku Tudou Inc. in partnership with a private equity firm. The company also bought a controlling stake in content and media company ChinaVision Media Group Ltd. in March.