Alibaba to buy Kaola unit from NetEase for $2 billion

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd  has agreed to pay $2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) in cash to buy Chinese e-commerce firm Kaola, local news outlet Caixin reported on Friday.

Kaola, owned by Nasdaq-listed NetEase Inc , sells apparel, household appliances and other products, and is the biggest among Chinese shopping sites selling imported goods, according to a report from consulting agency iiMedia.

Both Alibaba and NetEase did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The news comes a day after Alibaba reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit, aided by growth in its e-commerce and cloud computing businesses.

Amazon.com Inc's Chinese joint venture was also in talks about a merger with Kaola, business magazine Caijing had reported in February.