14 DAY TRIAL // Half of Microsoft's MSN is being prepared for sale to a World of Warcraft operator. The deal is only valid for MSN China, and not for the international portal powered by the Redmond company. On Chinese soil, Microsoft's online services group is co-owned with Shanghai Alliance Investment, a state company. At the beginning of September, news broke that Shanghai Alliance Investment was in the market for a buyer to acquire its 50% stake in MSN China.
Shanghai Alliance Investment together with Microsoft debuted the Shanghai MSN Network Communications joint venture back in May 2005. And after one month since Shanghai Alliance Investment announced that its stake was up for grabs, The 9 Limited is now reported as the buyer. Considering that Shanghai Alliance Investment startedd approaching potential buyers in August, it seems that MSN China is nothing short of hot Internet property.
The Microsoft and Shanghai Alliance Investment venture is designed to provide online content, instant messaging and email services in Chinese. And in this context, the potential for growth is immense. In fact, Shanghai Alliance Investment apparently is giving up its stake due to the fact that the partnership with Microsoft became problematic and unclear. Shanghai Alliance Investment is owned by China and is run by Jiang Mianheng, a son of former President Jiang Zemin.
The 9 Limited is an online game operator focused on the World of Warcraft title, and is looking to diversify its business. The 9 Limited is ready to cough up no less than $100 million for 50% of MSN China, according to ShanghaiDaily. Microsoft's instant messaging client in China is the second most popular IM application after QQ and accounts for over 11 million users. At this point in time, neither of the parties involved in the transaction commented in any way the deal about to take place.