SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Ant Group on Saturday announced a 567.1 billion yuan (71.5 billion euros) share buyback program as management seeks to let some investors pull out after authorities Chinese companies imposed on the group one of the highest fines ever imposed on a technology company in China.
Ant Group said it offered all of its shareholders to buy out up to 7.6% of its equity stake.
“The repurchased shares will be transferred into Ant Group’s employee incentive plans to attract talent. The buyback program will also provide a liquidity option for our investors,” the group said.
Ant Group’s two major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, have decided not to participate in the share buyback, the company said.
Chinese authorities on Friday fined the group 7.12 billion yuan for violating consumer protection and corporate governance laws.
The activities of Ant Group, founded by billionaire Jack Ma, include payment processing, consumer lending and the distribution of insurance products.
In mid-2020, before its IPO was cancelled, Ant Group was valued by some investors at over $300 billion (€273 billion).
(Report Brenda Goh and Zhang Yan; French version Camille Raynaud)
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