VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is looking to expand its entertainment content offering on its Internet television set-top boxes through deals with studios in the United States, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Thursday it has changed the name of its Alipay financial services affiliate to Ant Financial Services Group as it steps up its push into the financial services industry.

Yahoo Inc plans to invest a part of the proceeds from the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd stake sale in mobile app Snapchat, which lets users send messages that disappear after a few seconds, the Wall Street Journal said.

Rocket Internet (RKET.DE), the global e-commerce investor, is selling its shares at 42.50 euros apiece, or the top of the price range, as investors flock to tap into a new wave of Internet start-up listings.

Cable operator Tele Columbus [ESCALC.UL] became the latest German company to announce plans to float shares as the country's traditionally risk-averse companies warm to capital markets after Alibaba's record-breaking $25 billion listing.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's finance arm has been given government approval to set up a private bank, China's banking regulator said on Monday, the latest step in the e-commerce company's push into the financial services sector.

Activist investor Starboard Value LP said on Friday it has acquired a "significant" stake in Yahoo Inc YHOO.O and urged the Internet company to explore a merger with AOL Inc AOL.N.

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), has become China's richest man with a fortune estimated at $25 billion, underscoring the ascension of tech tycoons over real estate peers in the world's second biggest economy.

The underwriters of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.N's IPO have issued additional shares, according to the Wall Street Journal, bringing the IPO's size to about $25 billion and making it the largest initial public offering in history.

Asian shares got off on the back foot on Monday after an uninspiring session on Wall Street, while the dollar gave back a little of its recent solid gains in early trading.

Japan's SoftBank Corp said it expected a gain of about 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) from Alibaba Group Holding's share listing in New York, where the Chinese e-commerce leader surged 38 percent on its first day of trade.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's record public offering of shares on Friday further spurred already elevated activity in Yahoo Inc's options, pushing volume on the U.S. Internet company to a one-day record high.

U.S. stocks closed little changed on Friday after Alibaba's strong debut was offset by falling technology shares as Oracle and Yahoo stumbled, but the Dow managed to edge higher to set a record for a second straight session.

German business software maker SAP (SAPG.DE) said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire U.S.-based expense management software maker Concur Technologies Inc (CNQR.O) in an all-stock deal valued at $7.3 billion that expands its presence in internet-based software or so-called cloud computing.

Inside Alibaba, where co-founders are revered like rock stars, relatively few employees know about the soft-spoken executive who for years kept his same cramped office, unfashionable clothes and the self-effacing demeanor of a metalworker's son.