Alibaba takes 8% stake in online video platform Bilibili

Alibaba Group said Thursday that its e-commerce retail platform Taobao bought 24 million shares of popular Chinese online video platform Bilibili, owning an 8 percent stake in Bilibili Inc.

Established in June 2009, Bilibili is one of China's leading online video sharing and entertainment platforms. The company listed on the NASDAQ in March last year.

Earlier in December, the two sides announced they had entered into a business collaboration agreement, under which Bilibili and Taobao were expected to develop a dynamic ecosystem that would better connect creators, merchandise and users on both platforms.

More and more people would be aware of the great creativity and high-quality content of Bilibili's users with the help of Taobao's huge platform, said Chen Rui, chairman of the board and CEO of Bilibili.

"I believe our cooperation can further unleash Bilibili's commercial potential. I hope our collaboration will bring the creativity of the young Chinese to the world," said Jiang Fan, vice president of Alibaba Group and President of Taobao.