Alibaba’s $32 Billion Day Signals Breakups for China Tech
- The e-commerce pioneer to create six separate business units
- Move may compel rivals like Tencent to follow a similar path
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s overhaul could serve as a template for a restructuring of China Tech itself: a shake-up that achieves Beijing’s aim of carving up the country’s tech titans while unlocking potentially billions of dollars in pent-up shareholder value.
China’s online commerce leader surprised markets by announcing Tuesday plans to split its $220 billion empire into six units that will individually raise funds and explore initial public offerings. In executing the biggest overhaul in its history, Alibaba manages to address two objectives that have eluded many of its rivals — appeasing both a government distrustful of Big Tech and investors traumatized by a years-long regulatory crackdown.