Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK) Tuesday announced it acquired a minority stake in online travel agent eLong Inc. (LONG), in a co-investment with Expedia Inc. (EXPE), eLong's largest shareholder.

Shenzhen-based Tencent acquired an approximate 16% stake in eLong for $84.4 million while Bellevue, Wash.-based Expedia acquired 8% of eLong's outstanding shares, increasing its stake in the company to 56%, Tencent said in a joint statement Tuesday.

Tencent, which is looking for new ways to fuel growth outside its core businesses of online games and messaging, has stepped up efforts to make strategic investments in recent months. The eLong stake purchase is Tencent's first significant investment in the travel market.

The move would be a boost for eLong, which has struggled to keep up with China's largest online travel agency by revenue, Ctrip.com International Ltd., and which faces increasing competition, including from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Taobao. Cooperation with Tencent could link eLong's travel booking services with Tencent's base of hundreds of millions of users.

Dara Khosrowshahi, president and Chief Executive of Expedia, said in the statement that aligning with an Internet industry leader and increasing the company's investment "strengthens our position in this critical market."

"ELong and Expedia supply partners will enjoy incremental access to significant internet traffic and customers in China," eLong Chief Executive Guangfu Cui said in the statement.

-By Loretta Chao of the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 8400-7725; loretta.chao@dowjones.com

Tencent (PK) (USOTC:TCTZF)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Mai 2024 bis Jun 2024 Click Here for more Tencent (PK) Charts.
Tencent (PK) (USOTC:TCTZF)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jun 2023 bis Jun 2024 Click Here for more Tencent (PK) Charts.