Alibaba Sells 25 Million ZTO Express Shares for Over $500 Million

Executive Summary

On September 22, 2026, Alibaba Group Holding Limited filed Amendment No. 1 to Schedule 13D disclosing a major open-market disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. On September 21, 2026, Alibaba's affiliated vehicles sold a combined 25,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares in the form of ADSs at $20.02 per share, generating aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $500.5 million.

Transaction Breakdown

• Entities Selling:
  • Alibaba ZT Investment Limited (AZIL): Sold 23,391,178 shares.
  • New Retail Strategic Opportunities Investments 2 Limited (NRF): Sold 1,608,822 shares.
• Execution Details: Both sales were executed as broker transactions on the New York Stock Exchange in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933.
• Transaction Price: $20.02 per ADS/share.
• Total Disposition Value: $500,500,000.00.

Ownership Post-Transaction

Following the sale, Alibaba Group Holding Limited retains beneficial ownership of 46,941,287 Class A Ordinary Shares across five affiliated entities:

1. Alibaba ZT Investment Limited: 34,479,192 shares (4.5%)
2. Cainiao Smart Logistics Investment Limited: 5,787,037 shares (0.8%)
3. Taobao China Holding Limited: 3,322,050 shares (0.4%)
4. New Retail Strategic Opportunities Investments 2 Limited: 3,020,808 shares (0.4%)
5. Cainiao Smart Logistics Network (Hong Kong) Limited: 332,200 shares (0.04%)

In aggregate, Alibaba's deemed beneficial ownership stands at 6.1% based on 763,430,906 total Class A and Class B ordinary shares outstanding.

Strategic Implications

This transaction represents a significant monetization of Alibaba's non-core logistics portfolio assets. While Alibaba remains a major strategic shareholder with a 6.1% interest, this partial exit reduces its direct exposure to ZTO Express and provides significant capital liquidity.