After abandoning plans to spin off its cloud unit, Alibaba saw its valuation sink rapidly last week. The turmoil led founder Jack Ma to reverse a scheduled $870 million personal stock sale.
Unexpected Share Plunge
Just one day after Alibaba unexpectedly dropped a proposed $11 billion initial public offering for its cloud business, shares plunged sharply on Thursday – wiping out $26 billion in market cap.
The same day, it emerged founder Jack Ma had lined up the sale of $870 million worth of his own Alibaba stock holdings.
Halting Selloff and Steady Nerves
Facing sinking confidence from investors and employees, Ma has now halted the planned 10-million-share selloff intended to fund agriculture and philanthropic investments.
An internal memo shared that while paperwork was filed, the billionaire has yet to divest any shares.
Alibaba continues trying to steady nerves.
Ma’s office stated that he maintains a “very positive” outlook on the company’s future despite the market volatility. Since resigning from the board in 2020, the businessman has been gradually selling his stake.
Regulatory Scorn and Lingering Uncertainty
But this past week, it represented Alibaba’s largest single-day plunge since July 2021. The decline has shaved Ma’s net worth to around $30 billion after once topping $60 billion two years ago at its apex.
Beyond market jitters, Alibaba stock has languished since Ma attracted regulatory scorn in late 2020 for criticizing Chinese authorities. Alongside a broader Big Tech crackdown, shares remain nearly 60% below October 2020 highs.
With regulators now softening their stance, Alibaba aims to regain its footing. But this past week’s twists and turns served as a reminder that lingering uncertainty remains around China tech’s rebound.
