Chinese internet giant, Alibaba, will pay 28.3 billion yuan ($A6.21 billion) for a nearly 20 per cent stake in consumer electronics retailer, Suning.
At the same time, the Chinese shopping chain will invest up to 14 billion yuan for just over one per cent of Alibaba, the companies said on Monday.
The total value of the deal comes to almost $A9.5 billion.
It will make Alibaba the second largest shareholder in Suning.
The two firms say they will embark on a “strategic collaboration” that “signals the further integration of digital and offline retail”.
Suning is one of China’s biggest consumer electronics retailers, while Alibaba’s Tmall.com site is believed to command more than half the Chinese market for business-to-consumer transactions. Its Taobao platform holds more than 90 per cent of the country’s consumer-to-consumer market.
AFP