Rumors that Baidu is planning to acquire Meituan Dianping have been brewing for quite some time now. Baidu has denounced the rumors, stating that neither it nor its fully owned group-buying firm Nuomi are interested in merging with Meituan Dianping.

There were speculations that Baidu Waimai had made contact with Meituan Dianping to discuss the possibility of a merger. However, the two companies were not able to reach an agreement on stock rights and price.

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In August, Both Baidu and Nuomi denied the rumor that they are in negotiations with Meituan Dianping to iron out a deal for a buyout, according to All China Tech.

Meanwhile, Baidu announced that its second quarter gross merchandise volume reached $2.7 billion. This includes revenue from Baidu Waimai, Nuomi, and Baidu Wallet. Moreover, the figure represents a 166 percent year-on-year increase of the company's revenue.

During the 2016 Baidu World Conference last week, Nuomi General Manager Zeng Liang discussed the importance of the company's online-to-offline platform. Zeng said that Baidu's mobile search platform recommends services and sellers to users, which will be then picked up by the company's mapping service application that helps merchants locate their potential customers, and finally Nuomi does the delivery to complete the whole transaction.

Zeng added that the Chinese online-to-offline market continues to grow. He said that Nuomi is working on integrating big data services and artificial intelligence into its platform.

TagsBaidu, Baidu Waimai, Nuomi, Meituan-Dianping, Baidu merger, Baidu news