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Shanghai (AFP) May 17, 2011 Chinese Internet giant Tencent said Tuesday it had become the second largest shareholder in travel booking site eLong, Expedia's Chinese unit, as part of its strategic investment drive. Tencent -- a gaming, search engine, instant messaging and social networking heavyweight -- paid $84.4 million to buy about 16 percent of eLong, China's number two online travel site, said a joint statement by the three companies. Expedia, the world's largest online travel company -- which took over Nasdaq-listed eLong in 2004, also increased its stake to 56 percent by buying an additional eight percent of eLong's shares for $41.2 million. "China is a key region for us from a strategic perspective," Expedia president and chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in the statement. "Aligning ourselves with the online industry leader in China, and increasing our own investment in eLong, strengthens our position in this critical market," he said. Beijing-based eLong had a nine percent share of the online travel market at the end of last year compared to its rival Nasdaq-listed Ctrip, which led the market with a 53.6 percent share, according to Shanghai-based iResearch. The move marks the first significant investment in the online travel market by Tencent, which has 674 million active user accounts, the companies said. "Given Tencent's user base and its reach across multiple platforms, including portal, mobile, instant messaging and social networking, we believe consumers throughout China will benefit from this partnership," eLong CEO Cui Guangfu said in the statement. Tencent, based in the southern Chinese export hub of Shenzhen, announced a plan in January to launch a five billion-yuan ($768.3 million) fund to invest in online gaming, e-commerce and new media companies. The eLong purchase follows Tencent's move last week to buy a 4.6 percent stake in mainland film and TV producer Huayi Brothers Media as part of its efforts to combine film and new media.
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