Alibaba.com Ltd, the Chinese e-commerce firm for small businesses and the flagship company of Alibaba Group, yesterday agreed to acquire Vendio Services Inc, making its first acquisition in the US as it seeks to expand its footprint globally.

Founded in 1999, Vendio is also an e-commerce firm that helps small- to medium-sized merchants manage their sales across multiple online sales channels including their online store, Amazon.com, eBay, Google, Shopzilla, and more.

Vendio, based in San Mateo, California, hosts over 80,000 merchants who sell nearly $2 billion in merchandise. The company also operates Dealio, a shopping and coupons site for consumers.

Hangzhou, China-based Alibaba.com, part of the Alibaba Group, in which Yahoo holds nearly 40 per cent stake, did not reveal financial terms of the deal.

The deal is part of a $100 million investment plan for AliExpress announced in April by Alibaba.com. AliExpress is a wholesale transaction platform operated by Alibaba.com.

Through this acquisition, Alibaba.com will get access to more than 80,000 targeted small businesses in the US with potential sourcing needs from suppliers on Alibaba.com's sourcing platform and AliExpress

AliExpress and Vendio customers will be able to source from the 5 million plus products available on AliExpress and then sell goods through Vendio on the retail marketplaces of their choice around the world.

Post-closing, Vendio will become a new business unit within Alibaba.com and will retain its own brand name and operations.

''At Alibaba.com, our goal is to make it easier for our customers around the world to do business by providing solutions that increase margins, productivity and competitiveness through e-commerce,'' said David Wei, chief executive officer of Alibaba.com.

''We continue to look for synergies and investment opportunities to grow our customer base, acquire additional technology and add new applications that will help our customer base grow and prosper. Vendio is our first acquisition in the US and we are open for more partnership opportunities,'' he added.

Founded in 1999 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Alibaba.com is a Chinese platform for e-commerce trade, which has more than 50 million registered users in more than 240 countries and regions.

Alibaba.com also offers business management software and Internet infrastructure services targeting businesses across China, and provides educational services to incubate enterprise management and e-commerce professionals.

It has offices in more than 60 cities across Greater China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the US.