China Campus Driven Online Communities Consolidate

Filed in archive Mergers and Acquisitions on October 28, 2006

Oak Pacific Interactive, formerly called ChinaInteractiveCorp, a China-based provider of Internet products, has agreed to buy Xiaonei.com, a Chinese social networking site for college students, according to Pacific Epoch. Oak Pacific plans to merge Xiaonei.com with existing asset 5Q. No financial terms were disclosed. Oak Pacific has raised nearly $60 million in VC funding from Accel Partners, DCM-Doll Capital Management, General Atlantic, Legend Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures.

Xiaonei, which means "on campus," will merge with OPI's own collegiate social network site, 5Q. The combined entity will take its place beside other OPI properties, including the entertainment portal Mop.com, news site DoNews.com, YouTube clone UUMe.com, and classified ads provider RenRen.com."

This announcement comes at a time when Chinese companies are offering digital content sharing features and many difference channels for online community services. It appears that there is no shortage of willing Silicon Valley VCs throwing their funds into these community online services, despite that very few have a clear idea of how or if they will ever make any money.

Sound familiar.