US-based IT media company International Data Group (IDG) has entered advanced talks to be acquired by a consortium headed by Hugo Shong, who founded its Chinese VC affiliate IDG Capital Partners, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Founded in 1954, privately held IDG heads up a media business that includes PC World, Macworld and Computerworld, and which encompasses events and, through its International Data Corporation subsidiary, market research.
The firm hired Goldman Sachs at the start of 2016 to explore strategic options and is seeking a valuation between $500m and $1bn, according to people familiar with the matter. The other members of the China-based consortium have not been revealed.
IDG was a relatively early entrant into corporate venture capital, and Shong was the founding general partner of IDG Capital when it was founded in 1994, before taking up the position of president of IDG Asia/China.
IDG Capital’s investments over the years include internet companies Tencent and Baidu, online travel agency Ctrip, online video streaming platform Tudou and smartphone producer Xiaomi.
The status of the rest of the IDG Ventures network, which spans firms in the US, India, Korea and Vietnam, in the wake of the deal is currently unclear.
However, it is uncertain as to whether any such deal wouldgo through as it will likely require approval from the US government’s Committee on Foreign Investment, and the recent election of Donald Trump, who has been vocal about competing against China, may well complicate matters.