The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
SHANGHAI, China — China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Thursday said it has signed a deal for a $3 billion five-year loan, which will help the e-commerce giant as it snaps up stakes in companies within China and overseas.
Alibaba, led by founder Jack Ma, has been expanding in areas beyond its core e-commerce base, such as online video, as volume growth in its online shopping business slows.
The firm said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had signed the syndicated loan deal with a group of eight lead arrangers. It added that the amount could increase if there was steep demand.
"The loan, which is subject to upsize through oversubscriptions in syndication, has a five-year bullet maturity and is priced at 110 basis points over LIBOR," the company said in the filing, referring to the benchmark interest rate used by many global banks when making loans.
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Alibaba added that the loan would be used for "general corporate purposes", without expanding on what this meant.
The Wall Street Journal cited sources last month saying Alibaba was in talks with several banks to borrow up to $4 billion to fund expansion plans, including acquisitions.
By Adam Jourdan; editor: Stephen Coates.
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.