Alibaba sells stake in e-commerce branding services company Baozun for $21.8 million as part of company restructuring

HangzhouAccording to Baozun’s latest filing, Alibaba, the owner of South China Morning Post, on Thursday signed an agreement to sell 26.5 million Baozun shares to Champion Kerry for $21.8 million. These shares represent approximately 14.4 percent of Baozun’s total shares outstanding as of March 31 this year.

This deal followed Alibaba’s sale of the company worth almost $360 million Bible according to stock exchange data, the company’s shares were at a significant discount in March. In the same month, the e-commerce giant also raised about $314 million from the sale of 33 million shares of the company’s U.S.-listed stock electric vehicle producer Xpeng.

The headquarters of e-commerce branding solutions provider Baozun in Shanghai. Photo: Baozun

During a February conference call, Alibaba senior executives said the company was increasing its focus on its e-commerce and cloud computing businesses while putting its non-core businesses up for sale.

Baozun said it will maintain “mutually beneficial business relationships” that include strategic cooperation with Alibaba. After the shares are transferred to Champion Kerry, Alibaba will cease to be a shareholder of Baozun.

Founded in 2007 in Shanghai, Baozun provides integrated e-commerce branding solutions – covering information technology systems, store operations, digital marketing and customer service – on the continent. According to its website, it serves over 450 brands worldwide.

Nasdaq and Hong Kong-listed Baozun this week reported first-quarter revenue of 2 billion yuan ($274.2 million), up 4.9 percent from 1.9 billion yuan in the same period last year year. It also posted a smaller net loss of 66.6 million yuan compared with 83.5 million yuan a year earlier.

Since the end of secondary market trading in 2020, the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares have fallen 91.5%.

Baozun is listed on both the Nasdaq and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Photo: Baozun — Baozun is listed on the Nasdaq and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Photo: Baozun

Alibaba was an early investor in Baozun, contributing 32.7 million yuan during its 2010 A round of financing.

As competition intensifies with younger rivals such as PDD holdings‘ Pinduoduo AND ByteDance-property Douyina February report by Reuters, citing anonymous sources, shows that Alibaba is also considering selling its stationary retail networks Freshippo AND RT-Mart. This was subsequently denied by Alibaba.