A consortium led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and the Jiangsu provincial government are nearing a deal to buy a stake in the retail arm of Chinese billionaire Zhang Jindong’s Suning empire, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest domino to fall in Beijing’s effort to clean up its heavily indebted conglomerates.
The unit, Suning.com Co., could make an announcement as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Zhang will no longer have control of the company after the deal, the people said, marking the end of his run as a high-profile entrepreneur who drove Suning into an array of businesses, including ownership of the Inter Milan soccer team.
