E-firm Alibaba to buy 10% shares in Chinese courier Yunda: sources

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said that they had plans to buy a minimum of 10% of Yunda Holding Co Ltd according to two sources with knowledge in the matter.

Alibaba has been leaning on buying the stake from Yunda’s major shareholders, the source said. Yunda’s controlling shareholders are Nie Tengyun and Chen Liying, holding almost 52.19% on Yunda which would be worth approximately $790 million.

The other source said that Alibaba might make a deal to buy up to 15% of the Shenzen-listed Yunda with a market cap of $8.78 billion.

Alibaba had declined to comment while Yunda did not respond to a request for comment.

Should the deal go underway, it would be marked as the e-firm’s effort to gain a steady foothold on China’s divided albeit fast-growing express delivery industry.

The sources declined to reveal their identities as they had no authorization to speak with the media.