Alibaba Acquires Controlling Stake in Sun Art
19.10.2020 03:05:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988, “Alibaba” or “Alibaba Group”) today announced it will invest approximately USD3.6 billion in respect of Sun Art Retail Group Limited (HKEX: 6808, “Sun Art”), a leading hypermarket and supermarket operator in China, that will raise its aggregate direct and indirect stake to approximately 72%1. This transaction demonstrates Alibaba’s continued commitment to Sun Art, and its New Retail strategy by further integrating online and offline resources in China’s retail sector.
As part of the transaction, Alibaba will acquire 70.94% of equity interest in A-RT Retail Holdings Limited (“A-RT”) from Auchan Retail International S.A. and its subsidiary (“Auchan Retail”) valued at approximately HKD28.0 billion (USD3.6 billion). A-RT holds approximately 51% of the equity interest in Sun Art. Following the transaction, Alibaba will consolidate Sun Art in its financial statements. Additionally, Peter Huang has been appointed Chairman of Sun Art in addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer.
Daniel Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, said: “Alibaba’s strategic investment in Sun Art in 2017 was an important step in our New Retail strategy. The alliance we formed with Auchan Retail and Ruentex was instrumental in building a robust infrastructure to create opportunities and value in China’s retail sector. Led by Chief Executive Officer Peter Huang, Sun Art has achieved impressive results in its digitalization, and pursued promising synergies with businesses across the Alibaba digital economy. As the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digitalization of consumer lifestyles and enterprise operations, this commitment to Sun Art serves to strengthen our New Retail vision and serve more consumers with a fully integrated experience.”
In November 2017, Alibaba Group, Auchan Retail and Ruentex Group announced a strategic alliance to digitalize and introduce New Retail solutions at Sun Art stores, including omnichannel integration and a more personalized customer experience. Over the past three years, Sun Art has made significant progress in the digital transformation under a fast-changing market environment by leveraging resources and technology from the Alibaba ecosystem, to capitalize on the growth opportunities in China’s hypermarket and supermarket space.
Today, all Sun Art physical stores in China have been integrated into Alibaba’s Taoxianda and Tmall Supermarket platforms, providing one-hour and half-day on-demand delivery through deep collaboration with other key businesses across the Alibaba ecosystem, including Ele.me and Cainiao, offering consumers greater product selection and access. As of June 30, 2020, Sun Art operates 481 hypermarkets and 3 mid-size supermarkets in China, with a focus on strengthening its position through small and offline community stores.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years.
1Including the stake held by Alibaba Group and its related party.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201018005074/en/
Contact information
Ivy Ke
Alibaba Group
+852 5590 9949
Ivy.ke@alibaba-inc.com
Cathy Yan
Alibaba Group
+852 9012 5806
cathy.yan@alibaba-inc.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
NIPPON KINZOKU Accelerates Global Sales of Ultra-Thin Electrical Steel Strips "GT Series" and "ST Series" as "Fine Eco Metal" Environmentally Friendly Products9.7.2026 11:01:00 EEST | Press release
NIPPON KINZOKU CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yasushi Shimokawa; TOKYO: 5491) and its subsidiary, NIKKIN DENJI KOGYO CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Kawaguchi, Saitama; President: Akira Nishimura), are launching a strategic sales initiative for their ultra-thin Grain-Oriented (GT Series) and Non-Oriented (ST Series) electrical steel strips under the brand name "Fine Eco Metal". This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260709899733/en/ By reducing the thickness of the electrical steel strip, eddy current loss (core loss) can be significantly lowered. Eddy currents are electrical currents generated within the electrical steel strip by alternating magnetic fields; they are a primary factor that increases core loss. "Fine Eco Metal" is a brand name for our proprietary "Eco-Product" series, certified based on our own environmental standards. Background and Objectives: Addressing the "Shift to Electrification
3E Acquires Yordas Group: Expanding Leadership in Product Compliance by Augmenting 3E’s Global Regulatory Content and Expertise, and Adding REACH Registration Services9.7.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
3E, the leading global provider of expert-led AI compliance solutions for chemical and workplace safety, product stewardship, and sustainable supply chains, today announced its acquisition of Yordas Group, a leading international provider of scientific consulting and regulatory content services across chemical management, product stewardship, sustainability, and regulatory compliance. Headquartered in Lancaster, UK, with operations in Germany, Canada, Türkiye, and Japan, Yordas serves global brands through its Scientific Services, Regulatory Intelligence, Product Compliance, and Hazard Communication offerings. Solidifying 3E’s Global Regulatory Content Leadership and Breadth of Expertise The acquisition extends 3E's regulatory content leadership and joins two organizations that pride themselves on building and aligning the industry’s top talent of advanced regulatory and chemical experts. It further solidifies 3E as the product compliance solution provider with the industry's broadest
ROYC and PwC Sweden Collaborate to Digitalize Private Equity Structuring & Fund Operations9.7.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
ROYC today announces a strategic collaboration with PwC Sweden to accelerate the digitalization of the GP value chain. The partnership brings together PwC Sweden's market-leading expertise in fund formation and structuring with ROYC’s platform capabilities, with the shared aim of compressing time-to-market, eliminating manual friction in early-phase workflows, and improving the client experience across the full fund lifecycle for fund managers operating across any jurisdiction. "Digitalization of fund operations is overdue. We work alongside fund managers on structuring decisions, regulatory requirements, and operational complexity every day, and the inefficiencies in the early phase are real and costly. What excites me about this collaboration is the practical ambition behind it: taking the knowledge we apply manually today and making it available through a platform that GPs can use from day one. Working directly with the ROYC team in Stockholm makes iteration fast, and the applicatio
Hytera Introduces PDC580 Dual-Mode Rugged Radio to Support Seamless Communication Across Critical Operations9.7.2026 10:25:00 EEST | Press release
Hytera, a leading global provider of critical communications technologies and solutions, announced the launch of the PDC580 Dual-Mode Rugged Radio, developed for organizations that continue to rely on PMR while expanding broadband communications across increasingly distributed operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260708879078/en/ Built to connect LTE and PMR, the Hytera PDC580 brings dual-mode communication into one compact rugged radio. “The transition from narrowband to broadband is not an overnight replacement,” said Arthur Luo, Product Manager of Hytera Smart Terminal BU. “Many organizations will operate mixed communication environments for years to come. The PDC580 is designed to make that transition seamless, allowing teams to stay connected without changing established operational workflows.” Many frontline operations involve personnel working across different locations, departments, and network
LR Invests Over €2 Million in Quality and Growth9.7.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Global demand for innovative health products continues to grow, and with it the requirements for quality, supply reliability and production capacity. LR Health & Beauty is therefore strengthening its Ahlen headquarters with an investment of more than €2 million, laying the foundation for further growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260709000261/en/ New, state-of-the-art production line in Ahlen, Germany, manufacturing LR 5in1 Beauty Elixir and LR 5in1 Men's Shot. At the heart of the investment is a new, state-of-the-art production line. LR will use it to fully consolidate the manufacturing of its successful 5-in-1 products at its Ahlen headquarters. This includes, among others, the LR 5in1 Beauty Elixir and the LR 5in1 Men’s Shot. At the same time, the new facility creates the conditions for future product innovations in modern nutritional supplement concepts. By bringing the complete production of its 5-in
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom