China’s Alibaba buys 5.6 per cent stake in Groupon to rank as No. 4 shareholder in online deals site
Groupon shares still down 61 per cent over last 12 months despite sudden 29 per cent surge yesterday
Alibaba Group Holding has snapped up 33 million shares of Groupon, making it the fourth-largest shareholder in the online deals website that has lost 86 per cent of its value since going public more than four years ago.
The Chinese e-commerce giant owned 5.6 per cent of Chicago- based Groupon as of December 31, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.
Alibaba has also accumulated stakes in online retailer Jet.com, augmented-reality provider Magic Leap and car-booking company Lyft. The purchases are part of the Chinese company’s strategy to learn more about the US market as it expands internationally, said Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc.
READ MORE: Hangzhou style? Alibaba’s music arm chases slice of K-pop pie with US$30 million investment in South Korea’s SM Entertainment
“They don’t want to have their own operations, so they are investing in other companies to help them learn and pave the way for more robust activity down the road,” Luria said.
A spokesman for Hangzhou, Zhejiang-based Alibaba declined to immediately comment on the filing. Bill Roberts, a Groupon spokesman, said the company hadn’t been aware of Alibaba’s stake until Friday’s filing.
“Alibaba has a reputation as a long-term holder, and we’re pleased that they take the same view of Groupon’s opportunity and execution as we do,” Roberts said.
Alibaba’s stake was reported hours after Groupon had its best day with investors in more than four years. Groupon surged 29 per cent to US$2.89 at the close Friday in New York, the biggest single-day increase since November 4, 2011 - the day after its initial public offering at US$20 a share.