Hong Kong, 20th November: Earlier this week, China’s largest e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, announced plans to form a strategic alliance with Auchan Retail S.A. and the Ruentex Group in order to explore new retail opportunities in China’s food sector.

Under the terms of the deal, Alibaba will buy a 36.16% stake in Sun Art Retail Group Limited from Ruentex for HK$22.4 billion (US$2.88 billion). Auchan will also increase its stake in Sun Art. After the transaction, the ownership of Sun Art will be as follows: Auchan (36.18%), Alibaba (36.16%) and Ruentex (4.67%).