Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will inject some of its online pharmacy business into a listed unit in a deal valued at HK$10.6 billion ($1.35 billion).
Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd will buy Ali JK Nutritional Products Holding Ltd, which controls sales of healthcare products and services on Alibaba’s Tmall platform. The deal will see parent Alibaba receive newly issued shares in Ali Health, taking its economic interest in the firm to 56.2 percent from 48.1 percent currently. After the deal, Alibaba will also have a 67.5 percent voting interest in Ali Health.
The deal should bolster business for Ali Health amid a broader push into a fast-growing healthcare technology market by other firms in China, such as Tencent Holdings-backed WeDoctor and recently listed Ping An Healthcare.
The business unit, being injected into Ali Health, generated a gross merchandise volume of around 20.56 billion yuan ($3.21 billion) in the financial year to March 31.