Alibaba founders buy more than $200 million in company stock

Alibaba’s founders, Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, acquired shares of more than $200 million of the company’s stock, sending its shares up about 8%.

According to CNBC, Alibaba’s market value is more than $174 billion.

Tsai is also the owner of several sports teams, including the Brooklyn Nets.

But the company they founded in 1999 has struggled in recent years. The low point came in 2020 and 2021, when Ma publicly criticized Chinese officials and financial regulators, and regulatory pressure ultimately derailed the planned IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial arm.

Geopolitical pressures have also affected the company, with Alibaba announcing in March 2023 that it would spin off its cloud business as part of a broader reorganization of the company.

Months later, it canceled those plans, citing US semiconductor export controls. Around the same time the offering was cancelled, Jack Ma said in a regulatory filing that he would sell 10 million shares worth $870 million.