Alibaba Acquires Kaola to Strengthen Cross-Border E-Commerce Dominance

Executive Summary

On September 5, Alibaba Group announced its acquisition of cross-border e-commerce business Kaola from Chinese gaming and entertainment company NetEase for $2 billion.

• Kaola, launched by NetEase in 2015, targets shoppers in China by offering apparel, maternity and infant care, household appliances and other products from 9,000 brands from 80 countries.
• Following the acquisition, Alibaba will integrate Kaola into Tmall, and Kaola will continue to operate independently.
• The Kaola acquisition represents a major consolidation within the cross-border e-commerce space in China.