Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. has acquired a stake in Panda TV, an online live video streaming platform launched by Wang Sicong, the son of China's richest man, Dalian Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin.
Panda TV added a new shareholder, a unit under Qihoo 360, in early December, according to public records. It's unclear how much a stake Qihoo 360 acquired. No financial terms were disclosed.
Rumors about Qihoo 360's investment in Panda TV have been around for some time. Wang Sicong and Zhou Hongyi, co-founder of Qihoo 360, have close ties. Wang attended Qihoo 360's public events and promoted Qihoo's smartphones on social media.
Qihoo 360 also operates its own live streaming mobile app Huajiao Live Video, which raised RMB300 million (US$45 million) in September.
Panda TV and Huajiao can cooperate on content and distribution. Wang's investments in the e-sports sector could also provide additional popular content to Huajiao, according to Chinese media reports.
Panda TV reportedly raised a RMB360 million (US$54 million) funding round led by Le Cloud, LeEco's cloud computing unit, at a RMB2.4 billion (US$360 million) valuation in September.