WALMART is seeking to raise up to US$3.74 billion by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com, sources familiar with the matter said.
The US retailer is offering 144.5 million shares in a US$24.85 to US$25.85 price range, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Morgan Stanley is the broker-dealer of the offering, they added.
Representatives for Walmart, JD.com and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
JD.com shares closed on Tuesday (Aug 20) at US$28.19 each and fell 10 per cent in after-market trading. The Walmart shares are being offered at a discount of as much as 11.8 per cent to Tuesday’s close, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Walmart is its largest shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The share sale would mark the end of a partnership between the two companies that started when Walmart acquired a 5 per cent stake in the Chinese company in 2016 in a deal that also involved JD.com taking over Walmart’s Yihaodian online marketplace, which focused on selling groceries to higher-end female shoppers in major Chinese cities, the companies said then. Later that year, Walmart increased its holdings in JD.com to 10.8 per cent. BLOOMBERG
