(Reuters) – U.S. retailer Walmart plans to raise up to $3.74 billion by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, according to a letter of intent seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
According to the term sheet, Walmart is offering 144.5 million American Depositary Shares at a price range of $24.85 to $25.85, and Morgan Stanley is the broker-dealer for the offering.
Walmart said in a statement that JD.com has been a valued partner over the past eight years and that the U.S. retailer is committed to continuing its business relationship with the Chinese e-commerce giant.
“This decision allows us to focus on our strong China businesses for Walmart China and Sam’s Club and deploy capital to other priorities,” Walmart said.
JD.com’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell more than 10 percent in early trading on Wednesday. Its U.S.-listed shares fell 10 percent to $25.50 in after-hours trading on Tuesday after Bloomberg first reported the share sale plan.
JD.com declined to comment. Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Walmart is the largest shareholder in JD.com, owning a 5.19 percent stake in the e-commerce company, according to LSEG data.
The partnership between the two companies began in 2016 when Walmart sold its Chinese online grocery store Yihaodian to JD.com in return for a 5 percent stake.
(Reporting by Summer Zhen in Hong Kong, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Shilpi Majumdar and Jamie Freed)
