Alibaba, a Chinese e-Commerce firm, is looking to acquire the remaining 72% stake in digital mapping firm AutoNavi for $1.58bn.
The latest deal would allow both firms to integrate their data to develop mobile e-commerce services, which would direct customers to stores and allow users to make payments on the move.
Alibaba should also benefit from products that let customers use their smartphones to locate stores as they travel to malls and pay via services.
In efforts to bolster e-commerce services, AutoNavi has been gathering more information on the locations of stores and businesses, including mapping the interiors of shopping malls.
Last year, Alibaba acquired an 18% stake in online media firm Sina’s microblogging site Weibo for $586m, with further plans to increase its stake to 30%.
AutoNavi also owns a mapping patent, which allows it to send vehicles across to map cities and roads as well offer mapping application and China data for Google mapping applications.
