Alibaba takes youku stake

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, along with private equity firm Yunfeng Capital, agreed to purchase a minority stake in online video company Youku Tudou Inc for $1.22 billion, the companies said on Monday.

The move marked the first step by the world's largest online shopping platform into the online video market, where rivals such as Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd have built a strong lead.

Alibaba will indirectly hold about 16.5 percent of Youku Tudou's shares, and Yunfeng Capital will hold 2 percent, according to a statement released by the video company.