Shares of Chinese video-streaming site Youku Tudou leap 23 per cent in US trading on Alibaba buyout bid

The US-listed shares of Chinese video streaming site Youku Tudou leapt 22.88 per cent to US$25.08 in early New York trading on Friday after internet giant Alibaba made an aggressive bid to buy up the Youtube-like firm’s outstanding shares for US$4.6 billion.

Alibaba’s American depository receipts barely moved in response to the news, ticking upwards 0.84 per cent to US$72.38.

Under the proposed bid, Alibaba will acquire the 81.7 per cent of Youku Tudou that it does not own for US$26.60 a share, a 30 per cent premium to Thursday’s closing price.

The proposed deal galvanized investors in China’s tech sector sending Sina Corp up 7.77 per at US$3.39, with Sohu.com gaining 0.66 per cent to US$47.57.

The broadbased Deutsche X-Trackers Harvest CSI 300 index rose 0.39 per cent to US$35.91, underperforming the CSI 300 index in China, which closed 1.36 per cent higher on Friday at 3,534.07 points.