Baidu's bid to buy app platform raises questions in China

An attempt by China's biggest search engine Baidu to buy a leading apps platform for 1.9 billion dollars has prompted the official media to question the value of the deal.
Baidu's bid to buy 91 Wireless Websoft epitomises quickening steps by Chinese internet giants in mobile Internet though some question if the company to be bought is worth the price offered, said a commentary by state-run Xinhua news agency.
NASDAQ-listed Baidu Inc yesterday announced its move to buy all equity interests in smartphone apps distributor 91 Wireless Websoft.
The deal, if completed, will mark China's biggest merger and acquisition in the Internet market after Yahoo's 1-billion dollar deal with Alibaba in 2005.

Analysts are viewing the alliance as complementary as Baidu will promote 91 Wireless's smartphone app distribution systems, and in return, Baidu will be better able to contend for a position as a leading access portal for mobile Internet.
"Through the acquisition, Baidu not only gains access to app distribution, it will also attract around 100,000 app developers to its own platform in the future," Ge Jia, an Internet analyst, was quoted as saying by Beijing News.
Ge said digital mapping, voice and app distribution represent the three battlegrounds in the mobile Internet market and the deal could turn around Baidu's current disadvantages in a market that already boasts strong rivals like Tencent and Alibaba.