Ma heads for Hollywood in search of content

Billionaire Jack Ma is stepping up his Hollywood deal-making push, leading a team of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd executives meeting with studios to acquire online content, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Alibaba founder Ma will meet in coming days with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, Walt Disney Co, Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures, Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros, Sony Corp and Comcast Corp's Universal, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Hangzhou, China-based Alibaba will seek deals that give it the right to distribute US movies and TV shows at home, or invest in studio stakes, the people said.

Armed with $25 billion from a September initial public offering, Alibaba is on the prowl for entertainment it can sell to Chinese consumers through its set-top boxes, which also offer goods from its e-commerce site, the world's largest. Like Chinese peers Fosun International Ltd and Dalian Wanda Group Corp, Alibaba has expanded ties in Hollywood while navigating challenges such as piracy and censorship in the Chinese mainland.