孫正義要賣阿里巴巴股票，ADS將從2BN變成3BN，多了1bn

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https://www.theedgemarkets.com/a ... lans-sell-citi-says

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(Feb 7): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd registered one billion American depositary shares (ADS) that hadn’t been registered before, suggesting SoftBank Group Corp may intend to sell some of its shares.

Japan’s SoftBank backed Alibaba before its initial public offering (IPO), so a large portion of its holdings in the company are not registered as ADS, Citigroup Inc analysts including Alicia Yap wrote in a note. SoftBank owns 5.39 billion ordinary shares in Alibaba, equivalent to 673.76 million ADS, or a 24.8% stake, according to Citi’s calculations.

Alibaba filed a form last Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the US to register an additional one billion ADS, each representing eight ordinary shares. Its shares dropped 4.5% in Hong Kong on Monday to lead declines on the local benchmark, while its US-listed stock fell more than 3%. SoftBank rose 2.6% in Tokyo.

Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank has been under pressure in recent months as the value of many portfolio companies have slid with the technology downturn. SoftBank shares have tumbled about 50% from their peak last year with a decline in the value of holdings, including Didi Global Inc, One 97 Communications Ltd and DoorDash Inc.

SoftBank, which will report earnings on Tuesday (Feb 8), has used buy-backs in the past to bolster its own stock. Alibaba is by far its most valuable holding.

A spokesperson for SoftBank declined to comment.

The Alibaba filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will allow the company’s stockholders whose shares have never been registered with the SEC to have the flexibility to sell their shares, Citi said. The registration could also cover the company’s need to issue new shares for the employee equity incentive plan.

Alibaba registered about two billion ADS when the company conducted its IPO in the US in 2014.

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孫正義後來否認要賣股。