Alibaba lands US$250 million convertible bonds deal, AI pact with selfie app giant Meitu
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After trading hours on Tuesday, Alibaba.com China conditionally agreed to subscribe to the convertible bonds for a term of three years, 'at an initial conversion price of HK$6 per conversion share', according to Meitu's filing. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Headquartered in Xiamen, a city in southern Fujian province, Meitu said its strategic collaboration would cover areas such as e-commerce,
artificial intelligence (AI) technology and
cloud computing capabilities.
Shares of Meitu surged 18.98 per cent to close at HK$7.02 on Wednesday, the highest the stock has reached since 2018. Meanwhile, Alibaba's shares closed up 1.15 per cent to HK$123.10.
Meitu also committed to buy at least 560 million yuan (US$77.6 million) worth of cloud computing services from Alibaba over the next three years. Cloud computing enables enterprises to manage or distribute over the
internet a range of software and other digital resources as an on-demand service, like electricity from a power grid.
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The strategic collaboration is expected to serve as 'the foundation of a long-term partnership' between Meitu and Alibaba, according to the filing. The partnership will also allow Meitu 'to seize the opportunities brought by AI, driving the company's long-term growth'.
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