Alibaba Takes the Easy Way Out of Easyhome
The e-commerce giant is lowering its stake in the home-improvement chain. A wise move given the sector’s outlook.
Getting its house in order.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergAlibaba Group Holding Ltd. is reducing its stake in a partly owned Chinese furniture retailer. This couldn’t have come at a better time.
On Thursday, Shenzhen-listed department-store operator Wuhan Zhongshang Commercial Group Co. said it’s issuing shares to Beijing Easyhome Furnishing Chain Store Group Co. The $5.6 billion transaction is an effective backdoor listing for the country’s second-largest home-improvement chain. It also reduces Alibaba’s stake to at least 5 percent just 11 months after the company bought up 15 percent of Easyhome, in the e-commerce giant’s push toward bricks-and-mortar businesses.