China’s JD says it will invest US$800 million in on-demand delivery platform Dada Group, following which the e-commerce firm will own about 51 per cent of Dada.
The investment comes at a time when JD is spinning off its logistics business, the in-house delivery network that gave it a competitive advantage over larger rival Alibaba.
JD had merged its online-to-offline unit, JD Daojia, with Dada in 2016. Dada-JD Daojia, a Chinese online grocery and delivery firm, then in 2018 raised $500 million from Walmart and JD.
JD on Monday also agreed not to sell, transfer or dispose of any shares bought in the deal for six months after the closing.
The US-listed shares of Dada jumped nearly 19 per cent, while those of JD.com were up 0.5 per cent in trading before the bell.
- Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Anil D’Silva, of Reuters.
