(Bloomberg) — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. gained its most in six months on news co-founders Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai have bought some $200 million of its shares, offering investors a positive signal as Chinese stocks weather a market rout.
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China’s e-commerce pioneer gained 8% after the New York Times reported Ma, the once-outspoken billionaire who retreated from public view after Beijing clamped down on his empire in 2020, bought about $50 million of stock in the fourth quarter. His longtime confidante Tsai, now the company’s chairman, picked up about $150 million of shares through his family investment vehicle, according to a securities filing.
The revelation emerged as investors grapple with doubts about China’s post-Covid turnaround, and a market rout that hammered swathes of the world’s No. 2 economy. Alibaba had lost more than 40% of its value over the past year, as the company that once defined Chinese e-commerce lost market share to rivals like PDD Holdings Inc. and underwent a management reshuffle. Its rally coincided with a 5% gain in the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index of US-listed Chinese stocks, after Bloomberg reported Beijing was readying a $278 billion market rescue package.
Alibaba’s woes, as well as the surprise exit of former Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang, spurred speculation that Ma himself may be getting more directly involved with his company. The co-founder has in recent months stepped up public activity, though it remains a far cry from the days when he was a regular on the global conference circuit.
Arguably China’s most famous entrepreneur, Ma in November broke years of silence to issue a call to arms for employees. He took to an internal message board to urge Alibaba to “correct its course” and praised PDD, which has been swiping market share with its hit shopping app Temu. Ma said Alibaba could again be successful with determination and hard work.
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It’s unclear whether Ma’s move marks a reversal of a years-long stance, which has been to gradually sell down his stake in the company while focusing on his own projects. He disclosed plans to unload 10 million shares worth about $870 million on Nov. 21, according to filings last year.
But it comes at a critical juncture for a company that once topped China and ranked among the world’s largest by market value.
Tsai and new CEO Eddie Wu are striving to rejuvenate Alibaba after a series of mis-steps and regulatory scrutiny eroded its dominance. The Chinese corporate icon, which has endured post-Covid consumption volatility and a bruising years-long government crackdown, now has to contend with the ascent of rivals including PDD and ByteDance Ltd.
Last year, the company unveiled a plan to split itself into six parts — then walked back that plan while ejecting Zhang. It scrapped a spinoff of its $11 billion cloud division that some investors wanted, declaring that the company needed a “reset.”
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Ma and Tsai have both bought up Alibaba shares in recent months as the stock plunged, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Tsai’s Blue Pool Management purchased almost 2 million of Alibaba’s US-traded shares in the fourth quarter, worth about $152 million, according to the filing. It was the first time Tsai’s fund has purchased Alibaba stock since at least the last quarter of 2017, according to a review of regulatory filings.
Ma, who gave up his role as executive chairman in 2019 but is still a major shareholder, bought $50 million worth of stock in the quarter, the Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
–With assistance from Antonia Mufarech, Brian Chappatta and Vlad Savov.
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