Chinese app analytics company Umeng has confirmed the longterm acquisition rumours.

It's been bought by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba for an undisclosed sum, but likely to be in the region of $100 million.

Operating in a similar manner to companies like Flurry in the west, Umeng's SDK is being used by 60,000 developers, integrated into 180,000 apps, and has a claimed reach of around 600 million Chinese mobile users.

Eyes wide open

Synergies arising from the deal aren't obvious as clients will jump to alternative services if Alibaba starts to delve into their proprietary data.

No doubt, it will be more interested in the market intelligence that can be gained from a higher level - looking across different platforms, regions and app categories - as it hopes to take advantage of the growth of Chinese mobile commerce.

Aside from the Umeng deal, Alibaba has recently invested in the Sina Weibo microblogging platform and mapping outfit AutoNavi. It's attempted to launch its own mobile messaging app and Linux-based smartphone operating system too, albeit with little success to-date.

Alibaba is expected to announce a $10 billion IPO - either in the US or Hong Kong - in the coming months.

[source: TechinAsia & TechCrunch]