It might seem that Yahoo has its hands full as works to complete the acquisition of ad exchange Right Media but Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang believes the time is right for the company to create a similar ad exchange in China. According to AFP, Yang was speaking at a Santa Clara tech gathering focused on the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China.
Noting the alliance between Yahoo and Chinese B2B company Alibaba is nearly two years old, Yang said the partners have some “catching up to do.” While the partnership with Alibaba represents the right strategy, Yang said, it is too early to consider the venture a success. Establishing a major ad exchange in China might help determine the ultimate value of Yahoo’s $1 billion investment for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba. Yang said he’d get on the phone with Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma and discuss the ad exchange idea. Given the speed with which Google pursued DoubleClick – an action that helped prompt Yahoo’s interest in buying the remaining 80 percent of Right Media it didn’t own – Yang and Ma would do well to talk fast.
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