Today Japan’s NTT Docomo said that it has come to an agreement with search giant Baidu on a joint venture focusing on game distribution and mobile content in China, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
When we spoke with Docomo late this afternoon, a representative could not disclose more details but briefly added that it would be involved in the mobile portal business. Baidu will hold 80 percent of the joint venture, and Docomo 20 percent.
For Docomo this move continues a recent trend of big name Japanese companies turning their eyes to overseas markets, as we’ve seen the same strategy from its rival Softbank, as well as mobile gaming giants GREE and DeNA.
The company has been rather promiscuous in connecting with high-profile internet partners of late, hooking up with big names like DeNA and Twitter too in the past couple of months.
For China’s Baidu, Docomo will bring its experience in Japan’s mobile space, helping the search company with content distribution in its local mobile market. If recent rumors of a Baidu mobile OS are to be believed, then the Docomo deal makes even more sense.
On a related note, Baidu announced some major restructuring today as well, integrating the company into four departments: sales, user products and technologies, commercial products and technologies, and commercial operations. It was also announced that senior VP Shen Haoyu is resigning due to personal reasons.
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