[Update: It's since been revealed that the deal consists of $5.3 million in cash and an earn-out 1,443,074 shares if certain performance metrics are met.]

Demonstrating the importance of app distribution in China, it's believed that free Android app store GetJar has been acquired for around $50 million.

The purchasing company is Chinese outfit Sungy Mobile Limited, which is publicly-traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticket GOMO.

Download power

Founded in 2004 in Lithuania, GetJar has raised around $42 million in investment since 2004.

Although it's always been a free service for consumers, in 2011 GetJar launched its GetJar Gold virtual currency - funded by advertising - to enable users to get premium content and generate revenue for developers.

Sungy is a top publisher on Google Play through its Go Launcher app, which is the basic for its distribution business.

It has over 325 million users, 70 percent are located outside China. Its active user base is around 87 million.

[source: Gigaom]