(Adds restructuring details)
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 30 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group's restructuring will allow all its business units to
become more agile and enhance faster decision-making and
responses to market changes, the tech conglomerate's chief
executive Daniel Zhang said on Thursday.
Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring
over the past few years, he told a conference call, adding in
future the Jack Ma-founded company will be more in the nature of
an asset and capital operator than a business operator.
Zhang's comments come two days after Alibaba announced
its largest restructuring in the company's history, which will
see it change into a holding company structure with six business
units, each with their own boards and CEOs.
The restructuring also opens up the possibility for each
unit to raise funds through its own initial public offering
(IPO).
As a result of the restructuring, each business unit can
pursue independent fundraisings and IPOs when they're ready,
Alibaba Chief Financial Officer Toby Xu said on the call, when
asked about the timeline for the market listings.
Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a
standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to
value each business division independently.
The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba
shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on
one division in theory would not affect the operations of
another, analysts says.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Julie Zhu and Kane Wu
in Hong Kong; Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Sam
Holmes)
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