Bottom line: Alibaba (NYSE:) could make a bid for Weibo in the next six months, in a deal that would share many similarities with its newly launched blockbuster offer for Youku Tudou.
China's Internet is buzzing over the industry's biggest acquisition to date with Alibaba's () offer for Youku Tudou (NYSE:), but that deal could presage an even higher-profile one that sees the fading Twitter-like Weibo (NASDAQ:) follow a similar fate. Or even more intriguing, Alibaba could make a potential play for Weibo's parent and founder Sina (NASDAQ:) in a move that would spell the end for China's leading web portal and one of its oldest Internet firms.
There would be many similarities between such a deal and the Alibaba offer for leading online video site Youku Tudou announced late last week. Investors appear to also believe such a deal could be possible based on stock reactions to the blockbuster deal that would see Alibaba pay $4.6 billion for the more than 80 percent of Youku Tudou it doesn't already own. Weibo shares leaped 13.4 percent after the deal was announced, second only to Youku Tudou's own 22 percent jump.
All that said, let's review some of the many similarities between Youku Tudou and Weibo that make an Alibaba bid for the latter...