Alibaba leads consortium in $1.4b deal to buy ZTO

SHANGHAI, May 29 (Reuters): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Tuesday said it has led a consortium of investors to buy about 10 per cent of Chinese courier ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc for $1.38 billion, as part of the e-commerce firm's push into offline services.

The consortium includes Alibaba's majority-owned logistics affiliate Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd, Alibaba and ZTO said in a joint statement without disclosing the identity of other investors.

They said they expect the deal to close in June. The investment would be Alibaba's third in a Chinese courier after buying a minority stakes in YTO Express Group Co Ltd and Best Inc.