Google / Xunlei

Google, the US-based search engine, has taken a stake in Xunlei Network Technology (Thunder) for as much as USD 20m, reported Mingpao Daily News and Hong Kong Economic Journal.

The report in the Hong Kong Economic Journal, citing an announcement from Google, said that the company has taken a stake in Xunlei, a downloading service company based in China. However, both companies had not revealed the financial details of the deal, the report said. It added that Xunlei has more than 120 million users so far.

The Mingpao Daily News report said that Google has taken the stake in Xunlei together with Ceyuan Ventures, an investment company in Shanghai. The deal value is estimated to be as much as USD 20m, according to the report. The report, citing an unnamed China-based media, further said that Google invested USD 5m while Ceyuan Ventures invested 15m in Xunlei. An analyst was also cited as saying that Google hopes to gain the promoting channels in China through the sharing of software with Xunlei. It also said that the turnover of Xunlei in 2005 was more than CNY 100.

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