Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA, “Alibaba”) announced today that the company will acquire all outstanding shares that it does not already own in Ele.me, a leading online delivery and local services platform in China, in a transaction that implies the enterprise value of Ele.me at US$9.5 billion. Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group Co., Ltd. currently own approximately 43% of the outstanding voting shares of Ele.me.
This acquisition will deepen Ele.me’s integration into Alibaba’s ecosystem and advance Alibaba’s New Retail strategy to provide a seamless online and offline consumer experience in the local services sector.
Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, said, “We are excited for Ele.me to become a part of the Alibaba ecosystem. Under the leadership of its founder and management team, Ele.me has achieved leading market share in China’s online food delivery and local services sector. Our shared belief that New Retail will create more value for customers and merchants has brought us together. Looking forward, Ele.me can leverage Alibaba’s infrastructure in commerce and find new synergies with Alibaba’s diverse businesses to add further momentum to the New Retail initiative.”
Ele.me’s fast local delivery service will build on its core expertise in food delivery to provide consumers with a wider range of products and services on-demand. This expansion of offerings will allow Ele.me to efficiently utilize its large delivery force that currently fulfills orders in cities across China.
Ele.me also complements Koubei, Alibaba’s affiliated local services platform and provides extended synergies. By combining Ele.me’s online home delivery services with Koubei’s consumer acquisition and engagement capability for a range of restaurants and service establishments, Alibaba will be able to offer an integrated experience to consumers both online and offline.
