Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

On the heels of Alibaba.com Corporation's claiming of sole-ownership, the 1Pai auction website suspended business from yesterday with a "soulful curtainfall" notice on its home page, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.
Alibaba said it has bought a minority 33 percent stake in 1Pai from Sina.com and has become its sole owner.  It decided to close down the site because its business overlaps with that of Alibaba's other auction site Taobao.com.
1Pai.com.cn will stay online until February 15, but no updating will occur.  It will help direct visitors and registrants to Taobao, Alibaba said.
Before the buy-back from Sina, Alibaba, the Hangzhou-based operator of the world's largest online marketplaces, obtained 67 percent of the shares of 1Pai from Yahoo China as part of the  acquisition of Yahoo's Chinese business last August.
It had contacted Sina about its stake and held many negotiations before clinching the deal on December 31, according to the Shanghai Morning Post report.
But details of the deal were not disclosed.
Alibaba said this shutdown will not lead to job cuts at 1Pai, however.  Starting last September, employees with 1Pai have been transferred to Alibaba's other businesses such as Yahoo China, Taobao and Alibaba.
Market analysts regarded the shutdown as one of a series of restructuring moves Alibaba is undertaking following its acquisition of Yahoo China.
Last week, it announced the renaming of the "3721"  search engine to "Alibaba" to unify its services and businesses.