Alibaba is selling Sun Art Supermarket Chain for $1.7 billion.

Chinese e-commerce and technology group Alibaba is divesting its supermarket chain Sun Art as part of a restructuring process.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, the company has reached an agreement to transfer its stake in Sun Art to Chinese investment firm DCP Capital for $1.7 billion.

Alibaba, which first invested in the supermarket chain Sun Art in 2017, increased its stake over the years and purchased it from the Mulliez family, the owner of the company, for $3.6 billion in 2020. The decision to acquire Sun Art was made as part of the group's strategy to integrate online and retail shopping channels at that time.

In recent years, Alibaba has been undergoing a restructuring process focused on its core technology-related business lines, divesting assets outside the e-commerce and technology sectors.

New Structure

In March 2023, Alibaba announced a restructuring plan that would divide the company into six business groups operating independently from the parent holding company.

The flagship e-commerce platforms Taobao-Tmall, cloud computing service provider Cloud Intelligence, logistics service provider Cainiao Smart Logistics, Global Digital Business in the field of digital business solutions, Local Services as a local technology service provider, and Digital Media and Entertainment covering media and entertainment sector ventures were planned to operate as independently managed companies.

With the new structure, it was stated that the goal was for each business group to demonstrate independent assets in the market, carve out its own path in terms of competition, and create its own financing sources, including going public.