Alibaba To Buy 20% of Chinese CE Retailer

Alibaba agreed to pay $4.6 billion to buy 19.99 percent of Suning, one of the largest consumer electronics chains in China, the two companies said in a news release. The “alliance brings forth a new commerce model that fully integrates online and offline” sales, they said Monday. Alibaba and Suning “will be able to provide holistic and more convenient shopping experiences, as well as superior customer service to users looking to purchase online and through mobile devices,” they said. The deal includes plans for Suning to open a “flagship store” for CE goods and home appliances on Alibaba’s Tmall.com platform, they said.