(Yicai Global) Nov. 1 -- Ds.cn, an Internet automobile e-commerce platform affiliated to Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. [SHA:601238; HKG:2238], may bring in new shareholders to dilute the shares held by the financially troubled Leshi Internet Information & Technology (Beijing) Co. [SHE:300104], Securities Times suggested in its reporting yesterday.  

Ds.cn is now negotiating with the investors of China's 'big three' Internet giants, namely Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA], Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700], and Baidu, Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU], and is likely to obtain substantial investments, Securities Times said. 

Ds.cn was founded by Guangzhou Automobile Group in cooperation with Leshi and Urtrust Insurance Co. in June 2016. The said companies own 45 percent, 40 percent, and 15 percent stakes in Ds.cn, respectively. The automobile e-commerce platform was once an important part of Leshi Holdings' automobile business.

However, as Leshi became embroiled in a financial crisis, its stakes in Ds.cn have been frozen by court orders. If new investors are successfully introduced, the stakes owned by Leshi will be diluted to 15 percent, meaning that its influence on Ds.cn will gradually fade out, said an insider.

Zhao Yicheng, who was assigned to Ds.cn by Leshi as vice president of the O2O platform, has resigned from Leshi and joined Ds.cn as a senior executive, the report added.