Alibaba offers to buy Cainiao stake for up to $3.75 bn as it drops IPO plan

Alibaba Group said on Tuesday it was offering to buy the 36% of Cainiao it does not already own for up to $3.75 billion, abandoning plans for an initial public offering (IPO) of the logistics business in Hong Kong.

In the Chinese e-commerce giant’s latest u-turn of its restructuring plan, Alibaba, which holds a stake of around 64% in Cainiao, said it was offering to acquire the remaining stock.

“Given the strategic importance of Cainiao to Alibaba and the significant long-term opportunity we see in building out a global logistics network, we believe this is an appropriate time to double down,” said Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai.