Alibaba seeks to sell stake in media firm

An Alibaba investment arm plans to sell its 5.01% stake in Mango Excellent Media Co., Mango said in a filing late Thursday

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is seeking to sell its entire stake in a local television network after the Chinese government’s scrutiny over media and the technology industry intensified.

An Alibaba investment arm plans to sell its 5.01% stake in Mango Excellent Media Co., a TV shopping and entertainment network based in the central province of Hunan, Mango said in a filing late Thursday. The e-commerce giant, which made the purchase only nine months ago, is seeking a waiver from a one-year lock-up agreement, the filing showed.

Beijing wants billionaire Jack Ma’s firm to sell some of its media assets, including the South China Morning Post, because of growing concerns about its influence over public opinion in China, Bloomberg reported earlier this year. The tech giant had been a key target in a crackdown that has expanded from e-commerce and fintech to data security, after-school education, gaming and now celebrity fan culture.

This may be the beginning, says Feng Chucheng, a political analyst with consultancy Plenum. Beijing is very concerned of big capital’s control of media, as they would be also to leverage their control for ‘illegitimate’ interest or manipulation of public opinions.

While the filing didn’t reveal the proposed selling price or the prospective buyers, shares of Mango have slipped nearly 40% since Alibaba’s offer to invest in the media company was disclosed last year. The larger firm had paid 6.2 billion yuan ($960 million) for the 5% stake, which was valued at about $600 million based on Mango’s market valuation as of the Thursday close.

The Hangzhou-based giant’s stock has more than halved since reaching a record high last October, after affiliate Ant Group Co.’s initial public offering (IPO) was scrapped and antitrust authorities launched a probe into the e-commerce firm that culminated in a record $2.8 billion fine.