Alibaba Spends $4.6 Billion on Suning in Ma’s Biggest Deal

"Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will spend $4.6 billionfor a stake in Suning Commerce Group Ltd. as China’s biggest e-commerce operator adds a network of electronics stores in its biggest deal ever. Alibaba will buy a 19.99 percent stake in Suning, which in turn will spend as much as 14 billion yuan for shares in the e-commerce company, according to a Business Wire statement on Monday. The companies will partner in logistics and online sales to target deliveries as fast as two hours. Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma is beefing up his retail presence after a 24 percent drop in the company’s market value this year, bolstering the appeal of e-commerce operations facing slowing growth in China. Adding Suning to a partnership with department store operator Intime Retail Group Co. helps Alibaba compete with JD.com Inc., which specializes in selling electronics and has surged in New York trading this year. “Suning has one of the largest physical networks for selling appliances and that would help Alibaba’s location-based services,” said John Choi, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in Hong Kong." (VIEW LINK)