Alibaba takes control of Cainiao
Alibaba Group said today it would spend 5.3 billion yuan (US$807 million) to raise its stake in its logistics affiliate Cainiao Network to 51 percent from 47 percent and take control of the board.
Alibaba also announced it would invest 100 billion yuan over the next five years to strengthen its delivery network, aiming to fulfill courier orders within 24 hours, anywhere in the country.
As a part of a major effort for the e-commerce giant to drive its new retail strategy, these investments are expected to enhance the logistics experience for consumers and merchants across Alibaba’s online platform as well as to enable greater efficiency and lower costs.
“Our goal with this investment is to provide a comprehensive, first-class experience for consumers globally,” Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, said in a statement.
“By enhancing the logistics capabilities within the Alibaba ecosystem and extending our investment in this sector, we are further enabling our New Retail strategy to bring online and offline retail into one seamless experience for shoppers.”
Alibaba will take four of the seven seats on Cainiao’s board.
The e-commerce giant will also continue to deepen its collaboration with various logistics partners.
China’s courier firms and postal service handled 31.3 billion packages in the past year — 4.5 times that of 2012 — and efficiency also picked up more than 20 percent.
Cainiao president Wan Lin said that Cainiao hopes to continue to leverage data capacity to serve as a diversified business infrastructure provider for both online and offline business.
The transaction is expected to be completed next month, subject to conditions, and financial results of Cainiao will be consolidated with Alibaba Group's.