Chinese Internet giant Alibaba to acquire around $3 billion stake in hypermarket operator

Almaty. November 20. Silkroadnews – China’s Internet giant Alibaba will acquire around $3 billion stake in hypermarket operator, Nasdaq portal reported.
“Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Monday it would invest HK$22.4 billion ($2.87 billion) for a major stake in China's top hypermart operator, Sun Art Retail Group Ltd,” the report said.
Buying a stake in Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, Alibaba creates an alliance with Auchan Retail S.A. and Ruentex Group to focus on using the opportunities in China’s $500 billion food retail sector. “As Alibaba races to build big-data capabilities in the offline retail market where roughly 85 percent of sales are made,” the publication reads.
The French retailer Groupe Auchan SA, China’s Alibaba Group and the Taiwanese conglomerate Ruentex will receive 36.18%, 36.16% and 4.67% stakes respectively in Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. Acquiring its stake in Ruentex Alibaba will take its place at the position of the second largest shareholder.
Sun Art shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange, with trades suspended on November 13 and resumed on Monday, were down 5.3%.
According to Kantar Worldpanel, Sun Art is the leader among grocery stores in China, accounting for 8.2% of the market. It operates nearly 450 hypermarkets under RT-Mart and Auchan banners in China, as well as a chain of Auchan Minute brand stores.