U.S based tech behemoth, Google will be investing $50 million into the massive Chinese e-commerce retailer, JD.com. Google will receive 27.1 million newly issued JD.com Class A ordinary shares at an issue price of $20.29/share. This would get Google a less than 1% stake in the company.
The deal is sweet for JD.com who currently services Asian and South-East Asian markets. A partnership with Google would allow for the establishment of a stable presence in the United States. According to the two parties, the investment is just a small piece of a large puzzle which will enable promotion of products listed on JD.com on Google’s shopping service.
Jianwen Liao, JD.com’s Chief Strategy Officer said,
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“This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world.
Philipp Schindler, Chief Business Officer, Google, stated,
“We are excited to partner with JD.com and explore new solutions for retail ecosystems around the world to enable helpful, personalized and frictionless shopping experiences that give consumers the power to shop wherever and however they want.”
JD.com would definitely benefit from this partnership and so will Google. The tech company has been focussing on investments across Asia. Currently, Google does not have as strong an infrastructure in Asian countries as compared to the U.S. Speculations are rife that Google is looking to invest in the Indian e-retailer, Flipkart.com.
Because I’m always looking for a more frictionless shopping experience. The crap these business people spout.