Temasek Holdings Pte and GIC Pte have bought a combined $1 billion worth of stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA). The two Singapore state-owned firms bought the stakes from Softbank, which is offloading stakes in the e-commerce giant.
Temasek and GIC Purchase
Temasek and GIC will each pay $500 million for the investment, which values the tech giant at $74 a share. The purchase will add to their portfolio an additional 6.76 million shares. The investment underlines the belief the two investment firms have in Alibaba at a time when China’s economy is grappling with uncertainty.
GIC first bought stakes in Alibaba in 2014. It currently owns a total of $60 million shares worth $482 million. Temasek on the other hand currently owns 48.6 million in American depository receipts in the e-commerce firm.
Softbank Sell off
Softbank is in the process of offloading stakes worth $8.9 billion in the Chinese firm. The Japanese company is selling its stakes in the Chinese company as it looks to use the proceeds to pay down its debt. Even with the selloff, it will remain the biggest investor at 28%.
Alibaba has already repurchased $2 billion worth of its own shares as part of an effort that seeks to reduce the level of dilution on earnings. Reuters also reports that members of Alibaba Partnership made up of senior executives and founders purchased stakes valued at $400 million at $74 a share.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is another firm that is in a restructuring process and could be the next one to divest its investment in Alibaba. The search giant tried to spin off its 15% stake last year but called off the plans on the IRS insisting the transaction would incur some taxes.
The selloff comes at a time when Alibaba is under scrutiny in the US over its accounting practices, likely an offshoot of tensions between the US and China. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already requested documents and information related to how it reports and tabulates its earnings.