Alibaba Group Upsizes Share Repurchase to US $25 Billion from US $15 Billion
Alibaba Group Holding Limited today announced that the Company’s board has authorized to upsize its share repurchase program to US$25 billion from US$15 billion (the “Share Repurchase Program”), in a sign of confidence about the Company’s continued growth in the future. The Company also announced that Weijian Shan, executive chairman of investment group PAG, was appointed as an independent director to the Company’s board.
The Share Repurchase Program will be effective for a two-year period through March 2024. As of March 18, 2022, the Company had purchased a total of 56.2 million American depositary shares under the previously announced share repurchase program, for a total consideration of approximately US$ 9.2 billion.
Shan’s appointment as an independent director will be effective March 31, 2022, and he will serve on the board’s audit committee. Börje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ericsson Group, will retire from the Company’s board on March 31, 2022. Ekholm has served as an independent director on the Company’s board since June 2015.
“We are truly grateful to Börje for his invaluable commitment and contributions to the Alibaba board over the past six years,” said Daniel Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. “Weijian is a trusted leader in the global financial industry who has been an active facilitator for greater understanding between Asia and the rest of the world throughout his extraordinary career. I believe Alibaba will benefit greatly from his deep knowledge across different industries and global perspective.”
