YY, a leading live streaming social media platform in China, announced recent acquisition of the remaining 68.3% shares of Bigo from the other shareholders of Bigo for an aggregate purchase price of $1.5bn. David Xueling Li, Chairman and acting Chief Executive Officer of YY, stated, “We are very excited to announce the completion of the acquisition of Bigo. It is an important milestone for YY group which demonstrated our confidence and commitment to the globalization strategy. Bigo has delivered both rapid user growth and significant monetization progress in 2018, making it one of the fastest growing internet companies worldwide. While BIGO LIVE is consolidating its leadership in entertainment live streaming market outside China, LIKE also experiences tremendous user growth and user time spent increase in short form video market. The combination of YY’s and Bigo’s unparalleled businesses and services in both China and overseas will enable us to create enhanced live streaming content, expand our global footprint, and offer world-class user experiences for our global user community. As a result, we will be well positioned to become a world leading video-based social media platform.”