Chinadotcom Acquires Dae Advertising, Interactive Marketing

Asian portal Chinadotcom on Thursday further solidified its ties to the United States, as its Web Connection subsidiary acquired a majority stake in US-based Dae Advertising and its subsidiary, Dae Interactive Marketing.

Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

The idea, for Chinadotcom (CHINA), is to become the main means for US companies to reach the Asian market. To that end, it’s acquiring US companies with an Asian focus through its Web Connection subsidiary, which is Chinadotcom’s Web services arm.

On March 23, Web Connection bought TKAI, a professional services firm with offices in Portland, Oregon, and Tokyo that focuses on helping US companies reach the Japanese market.

“Today, more and more US multinationals are looking to Asia as a key growth market,” said Steve McKay, president and chief operating officer of the Web Connection.

“With the acquisition of Dae, we have established a strong US presence to help brick-and-mortar companies as well as dot-coms succeed in the Asian Internet marketplace.”

While Dae will continue to serve clients seeking to reach Europe and Latin America, this deal means it will concentrate the majority of its resources on building up its Asian expertise. Dae will also gain access to the resources controlled by the Web Connection, which has offices in six Asian countries.