It marked a sharp fall in the $300 billion-plus value ascribed to the company in mid-2020, before its IPO planned for later that year was pulled.
Ant said it had proposed to all of its shareholders to repurchase up to 7.6% of its equity interest at a price that represents a group valuation of approximately 567.1 billion yuan.
The repurchase proposal will also provide a liquidity option for the company’s investors," it said.
Ant's major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, have voluntarily decided not to participate in the repurchase, the company added.
"At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely."
Persons:
Ant, Hanyang Wang, Jack Ma, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan, Josh Ye, Shri Navaratnam
Organizations:
Saturday, Ant, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Tencent Holdings, HK, People's Bank of China, Thomson
Locations:
SHANGHAI, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong