NEW YORK: Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, which is preparing for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, has bought a minority stake in online shopping company ShopRunner, the Financial Times reported.
The acquisition is part of a string of investments by Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce group, as it prepares for its IPO, the FT said, citing people familiar with the transaction.
Alibaba is paying $75m for the stake in ShopRunner, run by former Yahoo Chief Executive Scott Thompson, the FT reported. The investment will add to a long relationship between Alibaba and Yahoo, the FT said. Yahoo owns almost a quarter of Alibaba, the newspaper said.
Spokesmen for Alibaba and ShopRunner could not be reached for comment.
Reuters
