It is rumored that Tencent has become a shareholder of iQiyi?Domain name integration may become a big winner!

Reuters News recently reported exclusively that Tencent is interested in acquiring Baidu's 56.2% stake in iQiyi, potentially becoming the largest shareholder of iQiyi.

While the news indicates that the acquisition is still under negotiation, and Tencent, Baidu, and iQiyi have all refrained from commenting on the matter, it has sparked discussions online. Today, let's discuss what new breakthroughs Tencent might achieve in the domain industry if it indeed acquires iQiyi.

Tencent:

Founded in November 1998, Tencent is one of China's largest comprehensive internet service providers and one of the most user-serving internet companies in China. In 2004, Tencent went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 00700), with a current market value of HKD 4.28 trillion.

Tencent currently holds 473 domains, with its official website domain being tencent.com. Among them, there are numerous premium domains:

1. They acquired qq.com initially, which is used for Tencent's website, and they also secured qq.com.cn.

2. In 2012, Tencent launched Weiyun, and its official website domain is the two-character domain weiyun.com.

3. In 2014, their online banking platform, Webank, went live with the domain webank.com.

4. In 2015, they invested $8 million to acquire the two-letter domain we.com for their WE Financial platform.

5. In July 2016, their gaming subsidiary acquired the domain Paragon.com.

6. In August 2016, their game testing platform secured wetest.cn/.net.

7. In 2017, they acquired the two-character domain weixin.com for $30 million, which serves as the official website domain for WeChat.

8. In April 2017, Tencent acquired wegmae.com for a seven-digit USD amount, as the official website domain for their gaming platform Wegame. They also registered related domains like tencentWegame.com/.cn/.com.cn.

iQiyi:

iQiyi is a video streaming platform founded by Gong Yu in 2010. In March 2018, iQiyi was officially listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (NASDAQ: IQ). Upon hearing the news of this acquisition, iQiyi's stock price surged by 25.85% as of the closing of the US stock market on June 16th, reaching $24.1 per share, with a current market value of $17.681 billion.

In terms of domains, iQiyi places great importance on its brand:

1. Initially launched as Qiyi.com, it later rebranded to iQiyi, with its official website domain changing to iqiyi.com. They also secured related brand domains like qiyi.com/.cn/.tel.

2. After a brand upgrade in 2011, they officially became iQiyi, and their domain switched to iqiyi.com, while protecting a series of brand-related domains like iqiyi.com/.cn/.com.cn/.net and three-character domains like aiqiyi.com/.cn/.com.cn.

3. In 2014, they invested millions to acquire two-letter domains qy.com and qy.net.

4. In February 2020, they made an eight-digit investment to acquire the domain IQ.com, which currently redirects to their official website.

5. In May 2020, they acquired the six-digit domain suike.cn, corresponding to their Vlog product "iQiyi Suike" app brand.

6. Additionally, iQiyi holds domains related to its subsidiary PPS Video, such as pps.tv, and other two-character domains like ziyi.com and qitian.com.

Tencent's choice of iQiyi, a product within Baidu's core portfolio, as a negotiation target suggests that iQiyi is considered a high-quality asset. For iQiyi, partnering with a high-quality entity also grants it greater bargaining power. This alliance signifies that the two video giants will stand together, potentially reducing copyright battles in the market, and with an increase in user numbers, their competitive costs will decrease significantly.

It's worth mentioning that iQiyi's recent acquisition of the two-letter domain IQ.com aligns well with Tencent's QQ, implying a sense of "loving QQ." If these two companies become allies, whether their domains continue to operate independently or they share resources, it would be a mutually beneficial outcome. Perhaps only through such an alliance can the stories of these two giants continue, taking their impressive domain portfolios even further!