A US$64 million stake in a Tencent-backed bank WeBank is up for auction on Alibaba’s Taobao page for judicial sales
- A court ruling against the fourth largest shareholder of WeBank has put 12.6 million shares in the private online lender up for auction on Taobao
Taobao Marketplace has always been a gold mine of unusual things for sale, but an auction of a stake in private Chinese online lender WeBank for 441 million yuan (US$64 million) should qualify as one of the more curious lots to come under the hammer.
The business-to-consumer operation of Alibaba Group Holding is auctioning 12.6 million shares of WeBank at 35 yuan per share, following a ruling by the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People’s Court against Shenzhen Brightoil Petroleum Group over an unpaid loan to Ping An Bank, according to a disclosure released by the court last Friday.
The auction, posted on the dedicated Taobao page for judicial sale, requires a refundable down payment of 44.1 million yuan from bidders and will officially start on December 3. No bidder has signed up for the auction as of Monday.
Brightoil Petroleum is the fourth largest shareholder of WeBank with a stake worth 147 billion yuan, according to the court disclosure. It said WeBank, which is backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings, recorded a 1.4 billion yuan profit last year on revenue of 6.7 billion yuan.
WeBank could not be reached for a statement, while Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A judicial sale is a forced disposal under a judgment, order or supervision of a court. This used to be carried out through third-party auction houses, which charge a commission that is paid by the buyer.