Baidu sells food delivery unit to start-up Ele.me

Baidu Inc. sold control of its unprofitable food delivery business to a startup backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as the search engine cuts back on cash-burning ventures to focus on artificial intelligence Baidu will become a shareholder in Ele.me after the Alibaba-backed firm completes its purchase of the Waimai business, the companies said Thursday. No price was released and it doesn’t include the group buying business Nuomi. The companies were in talks for a deal at a steep discount to the $2.5 billion Waimai was valued at in its last round of fundraising, a source said.