Alibaba Joins up with Management Firm for $300 Million Investment Fund

Alibaba has created a fund of US $300M with new partner Wuhu Gopher Asset Management to invest in film and television companies. The management company will contribute US $225 M with Alibaba Pictures contributing the remaining US $75 M. Why the investment in companies? Alibaba Pictures CEO believes “Bountiful investment opportunities and immense room for integration have emerged both upstream and downstream of the industry value chain.” The studio has already invested in a number of Hollywood films including Star Trek Beyond and Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation. This latest investment fund comes on the heels of the company’s warnings that Alibaba Picture’s half-year losses would increase, mostly in light of marketing costs incurred by Tao Piao Piao – their online ticketing platform.

This is a summary of an original China Film Insider article.