By P.R. Venkat
Alibaba Group has agreed to sell its shares in a Chinese hypermarket operator in a $1.7 billion deal, the latest divestment as part of the company's efforts to focus on its core e-commerce business.
The company will sell its entire 78.7% stake in Hong Kong-listed Sun Art Retail Group to Chinese private-equity firm DCP Capital Partners for gross proceeds of up to $1.6 billion, Alibaba said Wednesday.
Alibaba expects to book a divestment loss of nearly $1.8 billion based on the estimated fair value of the consideration receivable for the sale of shares.
The e-commerce giant had bought a controlling stake in the hypermarket store operator in 2020 for $3.6 billion.
In a filing to the Hong Kong exchange Wednesday, Sun Art said that the acquirer plans to delist the company and conduct a strategic review of the hypermarket operator's businesses.
Once a Wall Street favorite and a leader in China's e-commerce, Alibaba is facing challenges in growing its revenue. The company is losing some of its market share amid a slowing Chinese economy and rising competition from domestic rivals like Pinduoduo and Douyin.
Last month, the company announced that it, along with a minority shareholder, had agreed to sell department-store chain Intime for $1.02 billion. The e-commerce giant said then that it anticipated to incur an over $1.0 billion loss from the sale of Intime.
Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 01, 2025 18:54 ET (23:54 GMT)
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