Editorial Summary

Australian telecom operator Telstra announced on Friday that it has acquired 55% stakes in both Norstar Media and Autohome/PCPop. Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo said the company spent "less than half" of what it paid for its stake in Chinese real estate website SouFun on the acquisitions. Telstra bought a 51% stake in Soufun for $254 million in 2006. Norstar operates IT information portal IT168.com and auto information portal Che168.com, while Autohome/PCPop operates IT information portal Pcpop.com and auto information site AutoHome.com. The sites generate revenue through advertising and product listings, and, according to the announcement, are cash-flow positive.

Norstar Media hopes to exceed profits of $10 million this year in order to list on Nasdaq in 2009, reports Sina quoting an IT168.com marketing executive. Norstar booked revenue of RMB 110 million in 2007 and received a $20 million investment from Orchid Asia Group Management, Ltd in 2006, according to an unnamed insider. Norstar would not confirm details on the Orchid Asia investment.