Pursuits
Billionaire Li Drops Bid for Baidu’s Netflix-Like Video Unit
- The founder withdrew after failing to agree on pricing
- Investor Acacia had said the bid undervalued iQiyi service
Why Did Baidu's Li Drop His Bid for iQiyi?
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Baidu Inc.’s billionaire Chairman Robin Li pulled out of talks to buy control of the company’s streaming video service iQiyi after failing to reach an agreement on its price and structure.
An investor group led by Li and Qiyi.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Yu Gong offered to buy out Baidu’s 80.5 percent stake in February - a deal that conferred a $2.8 billion enterprise value on the Netflix-like service. The pair informed the board they’re retracting that offer after failing to strike a deal despite several rounds of discussions, Baidu said Monday.