Alibaba has made an investment of $590 million in Meizu, one of China’s leading smartphone manufacturers.
Alibaba seeks to integrate its mobile operating system YunOS with Meizu’s phones and hardware, while distributing the phones through the company’s online shopping platforms.
“The investment in Meizu represents a significant expansion of the Alibaba Group ecosystem and an important step in our overall mobile strategy as we strive to bring users a wider array of mobile offerings and experiences,” said Jian WANG, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Group.
The deal is designed to help Alibaba push its mobile operating system within China through Meizu’s handsets. In return, Zhuhai, Guangdong-based Meizu will get access to Alibaba’s e-commerce sales channels and other resources, the companies said in a joint statement.
Alibaba said that it will hold a minority stake in Meizu, but did not say how much of the company it will own.
Alibaba Group and Meizu will collaborate at both strategic and business levels to achieve a deeper integration of Meizu’s hardware and Alibaba Group’s mobile operating system. Alibaba Group will provide Meizu with resources and support in the fields of e-commerce, mobile Internet, mobile operating system and data analysis with the aim of developing Meizu’s smartphone ecosystem.
Alibaba Group’s online shopping marketplaces will also become distribution channels for Meizu’s smartphones and other devices.
“This strategic collaboration with Alibaba Group will enable Meizu to further develop our smartphone business and our smart devices ecosystem,” said Meizu’s Chief Executive Officer, Yongxiang BAI.
Some 557 million people access the internet via mobile devices, according to government data. But shipments in China were 389 million phones in 2014, down from 423 million the previous year, according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
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