A little information responds to rumors of being acquired by Baidu: it will maintain independent development

On the afternoon of February 17, it was suddenly rumored that Baidu would acquire some information, and negotiations were currently under way. A little information responded to the rumor, but did not make a clear statement. Its CEO Li Ya told reporters: "A bit of information will remain independent and no comment will be made on rumors." Baidu declined to comment on the rumor.

Original title: Baidu acquires some information for content distribution? Phoenix and Xiaomi would only be willing to sell it.

On the afternoon of February 17, it was suddenly rumored that Baidu would acquire some information, and negotiations were currently under way. A little information responded to the rumor, but did not make a clear statement. Its CEO Li Ya told reporters: "A bit of information will remain independent and no comment will be made on rumors." Baidu declined to comment on the rumor.

Rumors say that Baidu will wholly acquire a bit of information, and after the acquisition, Baidu will rely on a bit of information to develop content and distribution.

This rumor may be related to the recent internal speech of Baidu Chairman Robin Li. In a speech titled "Welcoming the New Era-Content Distribution, Connected Services, Financial Innovation, Artificial Intelligence", Robin Li emphasized the importance of content distribution and said: "Baidu, in essence, is the distribution of content."

However, the content referred to by Yanhong is not limited to the level of information distribution, but also includes data. The core is to take advantage of Baidu's search advantages to better combine content and artificial intelligence technology.

Previously, in terms of content distribution, Baidu's main products included mobile phone Baidu feed stream, Baidu News and Baidu Baijia number. In 2016, Baidu was quite attentive to the construction and investment of mobile phone Baidu and Baijia number, and officially announced that it would allocate 10 billion yuan to content in 2017, aiming to build and cultivate a larger content ecosystem.

There are also "obstacles" to being acquired in terms of information. Especially at the shareholder level, the top two shareholders, Phoenix New Media and Xiaomi, both attach great importance to the development of a bit of information. Phoenix New Media tries to explore a bit of information based on the "interest engine + editing" model, while Xiaomi relies on pre-installing a bit of information to provide content services to mobile phone users.

Earlier, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun also allowed Vice President Chen Tong to join Phoenix in the name of a shareholder as president of Phoenix. com and Yidian Information. At present, Phoenix New Media holds 45.1% of the shares of Dian Information and is the largest shareholder, and Xiaomi holds 30% of the shares and is the second largest shareholder.

Although Yidian Information has not yet launched Series D financing, Yidian Information also reached a strategic cooperation with OPPO in July last year. According to the agreement, Yidian Information will issue Series D preferred shares to OPPO's affiliates in exchange for OPPO pre-installing a bit of information mobile application on its smartphones. Therefore, when it comes to acquisitions, mobile phone manufacturer OPPO will also be involved.

However, one piece of information does have Baidu's "genes". Its founder is Ren Xuyang, former vice president of Baidu, and Ren Xuyang is currently back in Baidu as a strategic consultant.

Another important variable factor may come from the capital chain of a little information. On November 3 last year, Phoenix New Media (Phoenix Network) issued an announcement stating that the board of directors approved a loan of 12 million yuan for some information. However, in an exclusive interview with Sina Technology, CEO Li Ya said that there was no progress in Series D financing to disclose. At the World Internet Conference, he told Sina Technology: "What we can say is that due to its liquidity rate and its cost structure in this field, as well as its high-frequency distribution characteristics, it has indeed become a battleground for military strategists, so I think the future evolution will still be very intense."

The reporter also contacted Fenghuang. com about the rumor, but Chen Tong, co-president and president of OnePoint Information, did not respond.

Editor: Nancy