On Thursday, Alibaba Group (9988. HK) announced that it would monetize non-core assets and possibly sell some operations as it reinvents itself following a regulatory crackdown that knocked 70% off its stock.
Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company’s separation into independent businesses would help its segments become more nimble and eventually launch their initial public offerings (IPO).
Two days after Alibaba announced its greatest restructuring, it would become a holding company with six business groups with their boards and CEOs.
“Alibaba will be more of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, with regard to the business group firms,” Zhang told investors on a Thursday conference call.
In the same call, Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said the group would “continue to review the strategic relevance of these firms” and “decide whether or not to continue to retain ownership.”
After going public, Alibaba’s announcement that it may sell assets and business units comes more than two years after China cracked down on digital titans for monopolistic behavior, data security, and other concerns.
Zhang noted that Alibaba would temporarily maintain board seats on the new business entities’ CEOs and boards.
After the investor call and Wednesday’s 12% spike, the group’s Hong Kong-listed shares began 2.7% higher but fell to 0.9% by lunchtime.
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