Deals
Jack Ma Bets $2.6 Billion He Can Revamp China Retail Sector
- The e-commerce giant intends to pioneer a new retail model
- Intime acquisition will be its biggest step yet offline
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. pioneered shopping on the internet in China. Now it thinks it can teach old-school retailers a thing or two about real-world commerce.
The online juggernaut that vanquished EBay and Amazon in China has set its sights on transforming the byzantine world of brick-and-mortar retail. In its biggest old-economy deal so far, Alibaba is leading a bid to buy out department store chain Intime Retail Group Co. for as much as $2.6 billion. That’s a premium for the privilege of owning a company with shrinking revenues and a minuscule footprint beyond its eastern home region.