Disney, Google eye stake in China bus media firm

A consortium led by Walt Disney Co. is in advanced talks to buy into China's largest in-bus digital media and advertising company, a deal that could offer the U.S. entertainment giant a new platform to promote Mickey Mouse in China, three sources told Reuters.

Google Inc., the world's No.1 Internet search company, which threatened to quit China last month over censorship and hacking concerns, was among investors in the Disney-led consortium, the sources said on Monday.

The consortium planned to buy a stake of between 30 and 40 percent in Bus Online for more than $100 million via a purchase of old and new shares to be issued by the company in private placements, said the sources.

"Disney wants to be a strategic partner not just a financial investor in Bus Online as Disney is going to do many things in China -- for example, the theme park to be opened in Shanghai," said one of the sources.

"To Disney, the deal is not just about sharing in the growth of China's advertising market but more about the promotion of Disney, the brand itself, and this is strategically important to Disney in China."