Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings (NYSE:BABA) does not want to leave any growth opportunity. It has recently diversified its business segments into newer avenues such as Virtual Reality. Now we are getting to hear that the company is making its way into e-sports, for which it has recently made a $150 million investment in the international e-sports federation. This is perhaps the highest amount invested by any internet company into this emerging body.

Both Alibaba and the IeSF seek to materialize the investment, so as to gain recognition in the global arena, while both the entities would also be able to participate in Olympic Games. Alibaba Group&rsquo s Alisports and media streaming site Tudou would be the key beneficiaries from this alliance. The eSports industry has a lot of players coming in, including Alibaba&rsquo s U.S rival Amazon.com Inc.&rsquo s Twitch. Moreover, companies such as Nintendo, Tencent Holdings, and Activision.

While Alibaba may be a bit late to enter this industry, yet it my yield its potential benefits in the future as Alibaba may earn higher Ad revenues. Deloitte Global estimates $500 million revenues from eSports in 2016, which is a significant YoY rise. A comparison of watching an event live or on web creates a very positive prospect of this industry in the future as tens of millions would watch events on the web.

The Country Caller has discussed Jack Ma&rsquo s vision to integrate Virtual Reality into e-commerce, which is perhaps a very innovative proposition. Moreover, the entry into eSports would also increase the company&rsquo s prominence among Street houses. Renowned brokerages such as Evercore ISI and Credit Suisse have aggressive price targets for the e-commerce giant&rsquo s stock. The consensus TP stands at $95.47, which offers a decent upside of 13.2% from current levels. Let&rsquo s see if the e-sports investment receives an encouraging response.

 

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings (NYSE:BABA) does not want to leave any growth opportunity. It has recently diversified its business segments into newer avenues such as Virtual Reality. Now we are getting to hear that the company is making its way into e-sports, for which it has recently made a $150 million investment in the international e-sports federation. This is perhaps the highest amount invested by any internet company into this emerging body.

Both Alibaba and the IeSF seek to materialize the investment, so as to gain recognition in the global arena, while both the entities would also be able to participate in Olympic Games. Alibaba Group&rsquo s Alisports and media streaming site Tudou would be the key beneficiaries from this alliance. The eSports industry has a lot of players coming in, including Alibaba&rsquo s U.S rival Amazon.com Inc.&rsquo s Twitch. Moreover, companies such as Nintendo, Tencent Holdings, and Activision.

While Alibaba may be a bit late to enter this industry, yet it my yield its potential benefits in the future as Alibaba may earn higher Ad revenues. Deloitte Global estimates $500 million revenues from eSports in 2016, which is a significant YoY rise. A comparison of watching an event live or on web creates a very positive prospect of this industry in the future as tens of millions would watch events on the web.

The Country Caller has discussed Jack Ma&rsquo s vision to integrate Virtual Reality into e-commerce, which is perhaps a very innovative proposition. Moreover, the entry into eSports would also increase the company&rsquo s prominence among Street houses. Renowned brokerages such as Evercore ISI and Credit Suisse have aggressive price targets for the e-commerce giant&rsquo s stock. The consensus TP stands at $95.47, which offers a decent upside of 13.2% from current levels. Let&rsquo s see if the e-sports investment receives an encouraging response.