Baidu, a search giant in China, gained the attention of millions of people when it reported a 10% increase in its earnings. The catalyst for the increase in Baidu's stock price was mobile. The company added that the revenue from mobile is currently growing fast.
On July 15, Baidu announced its acquisition of 91 Wireless for US$1.9 million. Several experts speculated on why the company wanted to spend so much for 91 Wireless. According to analysts, 91 Wireless was a massive app distributor with its two main app stores called 91 Assistant and HiMarket. Together, they were able to record 10 billion app downloads. Also, purchasing 91 Wireless would allow Baidu to own an entire mobile app ecosystem that involves third-party developers.
Furthermore, 91 Wireless owned heaps of data that would permit Baidu to study the users' behaviour and pattern of usage on both iOS and Android. 91 Wireless also ran many major portal websites. Hiapk, 91 Wireless' portal was considered as China's biggest android site with millions of registered users and up to a million new visitors per day. The technology of 91 Wireless and its popular mobile apps were also said to be compatible with Baidu's cloud platform for mobiles. Analysts said that given these reasons, Baidu made a good decision to spend US$1.9 billion for 91 Wireless.
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