Walmart is seeking to raise up to US$3.74 billion ($4.88 billion) by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com, people familiar with the matter said.
The US retailer is offering 144.5 million shares in a US$24.85 to US$25.85 price range, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Morgan Stanley is the broker-dealer of the offering, they added.
Representatives for Walmart, JD.com and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
JD.com shares closed Tuesday at US$28.19 each and fell 10% in after-market trading. The Walmart shares are being offered at a discount of as much as 11.8% to Tuesday’s close, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Walmart is its largest shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The share sale would mark the end of a partnership between the two companies that started when Walmart acquired a 5% stake in the Chinese company in 2016 in a deal that also involved JD.com taking over Walmart’s Yihaodian online marketplace, which focused on selling groceries to higher-end female shoppers in major Chinese cities, the companies said then.
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Later that year, Walmart increased its holdings in JD.com to 10.8%.
