(Bloomberg) — Walmart Inc. is seeking to raise as much as $3.74 billion by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce company JD.com Inc., people familiar with the matter said.
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The U.S. retailer is offering 144.5 million shares in a price range of $24.85 to $25.85, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. Morgan Stanley is the broker-dealer for the offering, they added.
Representatives for Walmart, JD.com and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
JD.com shares closed at $28.19 on Tuesday, falling 10 percent in after-hours trading. Walmart shares are being offered at a discount of up to 11.8 percent from Tuesday’s closing price, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Walmart is the largest shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The share sale would mark the end of a partnership between the two companies that began when Walmart acquired a 5% stake in the Chinese company in 2016. As part of the deal, JD.com also acquired Walmart’s online marketplace Yihaodian, which focused on selling groceries to upscale female shoppers in major Chinese cities, the companies said at the time. Later that year, Walmart increased its stake in JD.com to 10.8%.
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