Report: Walmart sells stake in Chinese e-commerce giant for $3.6 billion
Walmart is shaking up the Chinese tech market by altering a major partnership.
According to Bloomberg, Walmart is changing the nature of its eight-year partnership with JD, the second-largest e-commerce platform in China, by selling its 144.5 million shares in the company for $24.95 each, or roughly $3.6 billion.
Bloomberg estimates that price to be an 11% discount from the closing price of the company on the U.S. stock market on Tuesday, Aug. 20, and near the lower end of its projected price range of $24.85 to $25.85.
JD also has reportedly bought back 390 million shares of its own stock, and there was an at least short-term negative impact on the prices of stock of JD and other Chinese technology and e-commerce firms.
Walmart’s decision comes as JD has been expanding its presence in different areas of the retail enterprise in the past couple of years The retailer has been utilizing the Yanxi AI platform developed by its JD Cloud division to create an industrial version of the AI-based open-source ChatGPT solution.
Known as ChatJD, the retailer says this application will correct what it says are ChatGPT shortcomings in loyalty, credibility, and accuracy that stem from a lack of vertical industry expertise and issues in its middle and application layers.
And in January 2024, JD Logistics began offering an international express delivery service. Leveraging the company’s express delivery network, customers in China can book doorstep pick-ups on the WeChat messaging app and receive one-hour pick-up by JD in-house couriers, with real-time parcel tracking.
However, Walmart is expanding its proprietary presence in China. The discounter recently updated its Walmart Cross Border ocean shipping solution to provide seaborne transportation from select ports of loading in China to hosted Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) facilities in the U.S. for streamlined sale on its third-party online marketplace.
[READ MORE: Walmart opens hosted U.S. fulfillment to Chinese goods]
