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.
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- 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.
