Baidu Cancels $3.6 Billion Acquisition of YY Live Over Regulatory Delays

Chinese tech giant Baidu has officially terminated its planned $3.6 billion acquisition of livestreaming platform YY Live. The deal, announced in 2020, failed to secure required regulatory approvals from Chinese authorities.

Initially envisioned as a way to boost Baidu’s presence in the live streaming market and diversify its revenue sources, the acquisition faced repeated delays. As of December 31, 2023, Baidu confirmed that the conditions for the acquisition had not been met.

Livestreaming remains a massive business in China, with platforms generating significant income for influencers and e-commerce firms. However, Baidu’s ambitions in this space have been tempered by increasing competition from rivals like Tencent and ByteDance.

The company has since shifted focus to areas such as AI, cloud services, and autonomous driving. Despite launching its AI chatbot “Ernie Bot,” investor reactions were muted, and Baidu reported modest revenue growth of 6% in Q3 2023.