Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce firm owned 24% by Yahoo (YHOO), offered to buy digital mapping company AutoNavi (AMAP) on Monday for $1.45 billion. The take-private transaction, valued at $21 an American depository share, represents a premium of roughly 27% to AutoNavi’s closing price on Friday. The offer would enable Alibaba to scoop up the remaining 72% of the company it does not already own as it seeks to diversify its portfolio to better compete with rivals like Tencent and Baidu. It acquired the initial 28% stake in AutoNavi last May. Read More
