It’s the largest deal in Amazon’s history, many times the .2 billion that the company paid for online retailer Zappos in 2009. The purchase price represents a premium of about 30 percent over Whole Foods’ market value of .5 billion based on the retailer’s last closing share price.
Its IP license buyers are from countries such as France, Italy and the United States, Tian said.
JD Finance, the finance arm of China's second-largest e-commerce giant JD, said on Thursday it has signed binding agreements with investors to raise 13 billion yuan (.94 billion) in fresh equity that values the nascent company at 133 billion yuan.
JD began developing its automatic delivery vehicles in 2016, aiming to employ unmanned delivery vehicles to conduct bulk deliveries to office buildings and residential areas in cities to boost delivery efficiency.
Its first aircraft, with 90 economy seats, was delivered to Chengdu Airlines in late 2015. It has so far transported 15,000 passengers, the company said.
JD Logistics was established as a separate business group in 2017. It now operates 25"Asia No 1" logistics parks, which are among the largest and most automated smart fulfillment centers in the region.
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Its next step is to secure agreements on tractors and bulldozers with Chinese partners in 2018.
JD Finance's exhibition booth attracts many visitors in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
It's a natural process for Chinese cultural products to go global, but will also be a long journey, said Zhang Xiaoming, a senior culture researcher with CASS. "A global perspective and way of story-telling are needed to engage overseas customers."
It’s advantageous for Amazon to produce items in-house, as control over marketing, development, and packaging typically results in higher margins for the retailer.