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.
HANGZHOU, China — Alibaba Group Holding Inc. agreed to buy $2 billion of its own stock from SoftBank Group Corp. at $74 a share, part of SoftBank's effort to monetise $8.9 billion of its stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant.
In addition to Alibaba’s $2 billion purchase, SoftBank will sell $400 million in Alibaba shares to the Alibaba Partnership and $500 million each to two sovereign wealth funds in Singapore. All the sales are for $74 a share, Alibaba and SoftBank said Wednesday in separate statements.
SoftBank approached Alibaba six months ago to express interest in divesting part of its stake in the company, which it has held for 16 years. Timing the transaction was tricky because SoftBank chairman and chief executive officer Masayoshi Son sits on Alibaba’s board, SoftBank president Nikesh Arora said during a conference call.
When completed, the sales will reduce the size of SoftBank’s stake in Alibaba to about 28 percent from just more than 32 percent. SoftBank had previously announced the Alibaba share sales without the pricing.
By Spencer Soper; editors: Jilian Ward and Andrew Pollack.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.