Alibaba Increases its Stake in YTO Express by 12%

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Shanghai YTO Express (Logistics) Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement Tuesday, with Alibaba raising its stake in YTO by 12%, YTO’s statement showed. 

YTO’s founding couple Yu Huijiao and Zhang Xiaojuan signed a share transfer agreement with Alibaba at 17.406 yuan per share, accounting for 12% of the company’s total shares, according to the statement.

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The move is to “further strengthen the capital cooperation bond between YTO and Alibaba, jointly promote the synergy and complementary advantages of express logistics, air cargo, international network and supply chain, digital technology, etc., and enhance the comprehensive global service capabilities of both parties.” 

This share change will cause changes in YTO’s equity distribution and structure, but will not cause changes in the company’s controlling shareholders and actual controllers, and will not cause the company to fail to be listed, the statement showed. 

Established in 2000, YTO has become the top service provider in the sector, offering comprehensive logistics coverage in China after China Post. It manages eight logistics compounds nationwide, operating 72 transfer centers and over 12,500 pick-up points.

YTO is one of the earliest couriers to be backed by Alibaba and to work with its logistics arm Cainiao in express delivery, warehouse distribution, terminal construction, R&D and application of smart IoT equipment.

In 2015, Alibaba announced to take a minority stake in YTO, cooperating in “developing optimal logistics solutions for China in order to raise operational efficiency in the industry.”

Delivery firms in China dispatched 63 billion parcels last year, up 24% from 2018, while revenue for the sector grew 23% to 745 billion yuan, data from State Post Bureau showed.