The company Ant operates the Chinese mobile payment application Alipay, the world’s largest, with more than 1 billion users.
For iProfessional
01/07/2023 – 7:56 p.m.
Ant Group founder Jack Ma will cede control of the Chinese fintech giant in a restructuring that seeks to end the regulators pressurewhich was sparked shortly after its mammoth stock debut was canceled two years ago.
Ant’s $37 billion IPO, which would have been the world’s largest, was scrapped at the last minute in November 2020, leading to a forced restructuring of the security firm. financial technology and speculation that the Chinese billionaire would have to cede control.
Although some analysts said that a transfer of control could clear the way for the company to reactivate its IPO, the changes announced by the group, however, are likely to result in a further delay due to regulations.
China’s domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change of control to list. The wait is two years in the Shanghai STAR market and one year in Hong Kong.
Ma, a former English teacher, previously held more than 50% of the voting rights in Ant, but the changes will see his stake fall to 6.2%, according to Reuters calculations.
Ma previously owned more than 50% of the voting rights in Ant, but the changes will see his stake fall to 6.2%
Ma only owns a 10% stake in Ant, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 9988.HK, but has exercised control over the company through related entities, according to Ant’s IPO prospectus filed with exchanges. in 2020.
Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle of Ma, had control of two other entities that hold a combined 50.5% stake in Ant, according to the prospectus.
Why will Ma give up control of Ant Group?
Ma’s handover of control comes as Ant nears completion of its two-year regulatory-driven restructuring, and Chinese authorities are about to fine the company more than $1 billion. dollars, Reuters reported in November.
The expected sanction is part of the unprecedented offensive waged by Beijing against the country’s tech titans over the past two years, which has reduced its value by hundreds of billions of dollars and eroded its revenue and profits.
Ant operates the ubiquitous Chinese mobile payment app Alipay, the world’s largest, with more than 1 billion users.
