GIC, Temasek buy $1 billion in Alibaba stock in SoftBank sale

Both wealth funds purchased stake worth $500 million each at $74 apiece through subsidiaries

Singapore sovereign wealth funds bought $1 billion of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding’s shares as part of an $8.9 billion sale by Japan's SoftBank Group, Alibaba's biggest shareholder, the company said on Wednesday.

Singapore's GIC Private Ltd and Temasek Holdings each purchased $500 million of Alibaba shares at $74.00 apiece through subsidiaries, Alibaba said, offering details of the SoftBank sale announced on Tuesday.

Alibaba purchased $2 billion of its own stock at the same price, in a move which would add to earnings, Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai told analysts on a call. Members of the Alibaba Partnership of senior executives and founders purchased another $400 million, as expected, at the $74 per share price, he added.

SoftBank also offered $5.5 billion in debt securities, which can be exchanged for Alibaba stock in three years, Tsai said.

SoftBank Group said on Tuesday it would sell at least $7.9 billion of shares in Alibaba to cut the Japanese company's debt. It said it would remain Alibaba's largest shareholder after the sale.

Shares of Alibaba fell about 6.5% to close at $76.69.