Meituan, Dianping merger set to create an O2O giant

Consolidation moves in online-to-offline sector will end price war between firms

Two of China's biggest online-to-offline, or O2O, service providers, backed separately by rivals Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd, decided to join hands on Thursday to create a formidable giant and end bitte price wars.

Meituan.com, a group-buying site backed by Alibaba, and consumer review service Dianping.com, which is funded by Tencent, said in a joint statement that they have decided to go in for a strategic merger.