By Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) – Alibaba’s recent registration of additional American Depository Shares is not tied to any specific future transaction by SoftBank Group Corp, a spokesperson for the Japanese conglomerate said on Wednesday.
“The registration of the ADR conversion facility (F6 filing, which was filed by Alibaba), including its size, is not tied to any specific future transaction by SBG,” SoftBank said in a statement to Reuters.
E-commerce giant Alibaba last week filed to register an additional one billion American Depository Shares. The move, Citigroup analysts said this week, “might also suggest potential selling intention by SoftBank.”
“Since Softbank has been a pre-IPO investor, we believe a large proportion of those shares have not been previously registered as ADS,” Citi analysts including Alicia Yap wrote.
SoftBank’s stake of around 25% in Alibaba is worth around $82 billion and has its origins in a $20 million investment in 2000. Alibaba’s shares have fallen by 60% since highs in October 2020 amid a regulatory crackdown against tech firms in China.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Kim Coghill)
