Updated below: This is an interesting expansion move by the Australian telco giant Telstra: it has taken 55 percent stakes in Norstar Media and in Autohome/PCPop. Norstar operates IT information portal IT168.com and auto info site Che168.com, while Autohome/PCPop operates IT info site Pcpop.com and auto info site AutoHome.com.

This comes after another such buy by Telstra in 2006, when it bought 51 percent of SouFun Holdings, the Chinese Internet real estate firm, for about $254 million. CEO Sol Trujillo said that the two new acquisitions were in total less than half the price it paid for SouFun....no more financial details were released. More details in release.

PacificEpoch: Norstar Media hopes to exceed profits of $10 million this year in order to list on Nasdaq in 2009, reports Sina (NSDQ: SINA) quoting an IT168.com marketing executive.

Updated: The total purchase price for both the companies is about $73 million, with a further, smaller sum due by year’s end if performance targets are met, according to WSJ. Telstra may combine all the three sites it now own in China and spin them off into a public company, the story mentions.

• Telstra Buys Stake In Chinese Real Estate Site For $254 Million