Alibaba Looks To Divest Stake In Twitter Like China Counterpart Weibo

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) is discussing possible stake sale in Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR)-like social media Weibo Corp (NASDAQ: WB) with Shanghai Media Group, Bloomberg reports.

• SMG could acquire Alibaba's entire ~30% stake in Weibo. One of China's largest state-owned media and cultural conglomerates, SMG, is more likely to gain Beijing's approval than a private acquirer.

• Related Content: Read What Stifel Thinks Of Tencent's Stake Divestment In JD

• SMG is a controlling shareholder of Oriental Pearl Group Co, which operates television stations and online entertainment portals and owns 20% of Shanghai Disney Resort.

• Chinese internet pioneer Sina launched Weibo in 2009 was listed in the U.S. in a 2014 IPO. It had daily active users of about 248 million, compared to 211 million for Twitter.

• Weibo is among the most influential and controversial of Alibaba's media holdings.

• The social media site scrubbed posts and took down comments relating to an Alibaba partner's scandal in 2020. Since then, regulators have called for a ban on private capital participation in media.

• Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 0.87% at $113.80 in the premarket session on the last check Wednesday.

See more from Benzinga

• China Presses Alibaba To Design Chips

• Alibaba's Fintech Affiliate Shuts Mutual Aid Platform

© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.