Alibaba to Acquire 51% Stake in Mutual Fund Dealer THFund for over $190 million

According to a statement by Junzheng Group, an investor of Mutual Fund Dealer THFund, Alibaba Group would acquire a 51% stake in the THFund for 1.18 billion yuan (over $190 million).

Alipay, the payments service under Alibaba Group, and THFund jointly launched Yuebao, a mutual fund for users to buy with money in their Alipay accounts, in the past July. Alipay claimed that 2.5 million users had signed up to it and purchased a total of 6.6 billion yuan (over $1 billion) worth of Yuebao in half a month since launch. It is said the two parties would launch more Internet-based financial products later on.

Alibaba established Alifinance, based on Alipay, in March 2013 that operates businesses including online payments, small loans, online insurance, among others.