Youku Tudou CEO to oversee $1.5bn fund

The CEO of Youku Tudou has been named chairman of a US$1.5 billion digital media and entertainment investment fund.

Victor Koo (pictured) will be chairman of a strategy and investment committee that will sit alongside an enlarged entertainment unit of Youku Tudou parent Alibaba Group, titled Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

This will have a warchest of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), and the focus will be on identifying investment opportunities across the entertainment business.

As a result, Koo – who oversee the fund – will retire from his post as chairman and CEO of YouKu Tudou, which became part of Alibaba last year in a multi-billion yuan deal.

Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment, meanwhile, will comprise business including Youku Tudou, UCWeb and production arm Alibaba Pictures. The ex-CEO of UCWeb, Yongfu Yu, will lead the unit as chairman and CEO, reporting directly to Alibaba chief exec Daniel Zhang.

E-commerce giant Alibaba recently took an equity stake in Amblin Partners, a Steven Spielberg-led production venture that also counts Participant Media and Entertainment One as stakeholders.