Global Retail Alliance
info@gra.world
  • Login
  • Register
  • Newsletter
  • Virtual Library
  • Choose your country
    • Australia
    • Brazil
    • China
    • Poland
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
GRAGRA
  • Home
  • Membership
    • Silver
    • Gold
    • Platinum
  • Event
  • News
  • Retail Tour
    • Our Tours
    • Europe Retail Tour
    • Retail Tour – New York
    • Retail Tour – Düsseldorf
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Membership
    • Silver
    • Gold
    • Platinum
  • Event
  • News
  • Retail Tour
    • Our Tours
    • Europe Retail Tour
    • Retail Tour – New York
    • Retail Tour – Düsseldorf
  • Contact

Innovation & Technology

  • Home
  • Innovation & Technology
  • Alibaba Gets New Learning Opportunity With 5.6% Stake in Groupon

Alibaba Gets New Learning Opportunity With 5.6% Stake in Groupon

  • Categories Innovation & Technology
  • Date March 10, 2016
  • Comments 0 comment

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. bought 33 million shares of Groupon Inc., making it the fourth-largest shareholder in the online deals website that has lost 86 percent of its value since going public more than four years ago.

The Chinese e-commerce giant owned 5.6 percent of Chicago-based Groupon as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. Alibaba has also accumulated stakes in online retailer Jet.com Inc., augmented-reality provider Magic Leap Inc. and car-booking company Lyft Inc. The purchases are part of the Chinese company’s strategy to learn more about the U.S. market as it expands internationally, said Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc.

“They don’t want to have their own operations, so they are investing in other companies to help them learn and pave the way for more robust activity down the road,” Luria said.

A spokesman for Hangzhou, China-based Alibaba declined to immediately comment on the filing. Bill Roberts, a Groupon spokesman, said the company hadn’t been aware of Alibaba’s stake until Friday’s filing. “Alibaba has a reputation as a long-term holder, and we’re pleased that they take the same view of Groupon’s opportunity and execution as we do,” Roberts said.

Alibaba’s stake was reported hours after Groupon had its best day with investors in more than four years. Groupon surged 29 percent to $2.89 at the close Friday in New York, the biggest single-day increase since Nov. 4, 2011 — the day after its initial public offering at $20 a share.

Groupon on Thursday reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates, driven by purchases in North America. The company said profit excluding some costs was 4 cents a share, compared with the average analyst estimate for a break-even quarter.

Having struggled since its IPO to spur growth and profits, Groupon replaced Chief Executive Officer Eric Lefkofsky in November. Since Williams took over, he increased the marketing budget in an effort to revive and reinvent the former Internet darling. Williams said his efforts are starting to bear fruit.

“If we do our jobs really well, we’ll beat our plan,” CEO Rich Williams said in an interview. “The reality is we have a lot of work to do.”

Even with Friday’s gains, the shares are down 61 percent over the past 12 months. On Bloomberg Television Friday, Williams said his company’s stock was undervalued, but that it wasn’t looking to make any deals.

“Our focus as a team just isn’t on things like acquisitions, or being acquired,” Williams said. “Our focus is on building a great business.”

Groupon said adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization would be $80 million to $130 million in 2016, compared with analysts’ projection for $105.1 million. Revenue in the period rose 3.8 percent to $917.2 million, beating estimates for $845.9 million. Groupon is continuing its search for a permanent chief financial officer and is interviewing internal and external candidates, Williams said. “One of the things you saw in the fourth quarter was faster-than-expected progress on the restructuring side,” Williams said on the conference call.

Groupon has exited 17 countries and now operates in 28 as it continues to streamline its operations internationally.

“We are feeling pretty good about our footprint,” Williams said. “But we are going to continue to evaluate it opportunistically.”

Discover more

  • Share:
gsiino

Previous post

Do ‘Digital Flagships’ Deliver?
March 10, 2016

Next post

Body Shop Concocts New Formula for Making Money While Protecting the Planet
March 11, 2016

You may also like

solana
Crypto project Solana is opening a store in NYC. Take a look inside
27 July, 2022
Senza-titolo-2
Co-op extends robot deliveries to Bedford
25 July, 2022
aldi-new-store-trigo
Trigo, ALDI Nord Open Netherlands’s First AI-Powered Frictionless Supermarket
19 July, 2022

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search News:

News category:

News Archive:

Last News:

Walmart Has a New Idea to Take on Amazon
10Aug2022
The Supermart by ZALORA x adidas opens at Bugis Junction
06Aug2022
Brands are getting creative with being real
02Aug2022
Mango Teen opens new store in Barcelona
27Jul2022
Crypto project Solana is opening a store in NYC. Take a look inside
27Jul2022

Twitter:

GRA_World Follow

An association made up and dedicated to the retail industry world's leading companies. Become a member today!

Gra_World
Retweet on Twitter GRA_World Retweeted
meshaalbomairh Meshaal Bin Omairh @meshaalbomairh ·
19 May

Very happy to announce that I am now a member of the GRA, one of the world’s most important associations for #retail industry leaders.
يسعدني جدًا أن أعلن أنني أصبحت عضوًا في GRA ، وهي واحدة من أهم الجمعيات في العالم لقادة صناعة البيع بالتجزئة: https://twitter.com/Gra_World/status/1526975525411033089

gra_world GRA_World @gra_world ·
20 May

🚀Los invitamos al próximo #webinar #GRA donde un panel de líderes de #Latinoamerica van a compartir tendencias, experiencia y el futuro de #Marketplaces✍🏻: https://bit.ly/3yNggfI

Load More...

© 2022 Global Retail Alliance | info@gra.world | Privacy Policy