阿里巴巴與大股東商談收回支付寶股份

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is in discussions with its major shareholders to reclaim a formal stake in its strategically important online-payment affiliate, said people familiar with the matter.

據知情人士透露，中國電子商務巨頭阿里巴巴集團(Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.)正在與主要股東進行協商，希望收回在戰略上具有重要意義的網上支付子公司的正式股份。

Alipay is central to Alibaba's operations, processing its e-commerce payments similar to the way PayPal handles transactions for eBay Inc. EBAY -4.97% It has also jumped into financial services, and now controls China's largest money-market fund, with assets of $87 billion.

收回支付寶(Alipay)的股份將顯著提升阿里巴巴集團未來的價值。阿里巴巴集團正在推進首次公開募股(IPO)計劃，預計將成爲美國曆史上規模最大的IPO之一。不過知情人士說，即便就支付寶問題達成協議，也不太可能在IPO之前生效，而且面臨中國監管部門的審批。

One scenario being discussed with a major shareholder would have Alibaba taking a one-third stake in Alipay, said one of the people familiar with the talks. Changing the ownership structure is 'still only a concept at this point, and there is no timeline,' another person familiar with the discussions said.

支付寶是阿里巴巴集團的核心業務，其處理電子商務支付的方式與貝寶(PayPal)爲eBay Inc處理交易的方式相似。支付寶還涉足理財業務，目前控制着中國最大的貨幣市場基金，資產高達870億美元。

The Alipay ownership discussions come as Alibaba is gearing up for an IPO late this summer that could raise more than $20 billion. With such a huge supply of shares potentially coming to market, the company must drum up significant interest among investors if it wants to sell those shares at a high price.

據瞭解談判進展的一位人士說，目前與一位主要股東討論的一個方案是讓阿里巴巴擁有支付寶三分之一的股份。

The possibility of direct ownership in Alipay could add to investor excitement, enabling Alibaba's future shareholders to benefit from Alipay's growth, especially in its payment services for non-Alibaba clients and in its financial services. Alipay doesn't disclose its profit or revenue.

另一位知情人士說，改變股權結構目前還只是個概念，沒有時間表。

Alibaba founder Jack Ma separated Alipay from the group in 2011, saying the spinoff was necessary for Alipay to obtain a license to continue its business under then-new Chinese government move prompted large Alibaba investor Yahoo Inc. YHOO +0.33% to complain it wasn't made aware of the transfer of Alipay until after it was enacted. Some investors were angry that the shift devalued their holdings.

就在支付寶所有權談判進行的同時，阿里巴巴正在爲今年夏天晚些時候舉行的IPO做準備，預計此次IPO將融資超過200億美元。考慮到發行規模如此龐大，阿里巴巴需要盡力做好前期宣傳工作以便賣個好價錢。

Alibaba said at the time that its board, on which Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang held a seat, had previously discussed the possibility of such a spinoff. The two firms, and another major investor SoftBank Corp., later reached an agreement over terms of the separation.

Bloomberg News 支付寶是阿里巴巴集團的核心業務，其處理電子商務支付的方式與貝寶(PayPal)爲eBay Inc處理交易的方式相似。而直接持有支付寶股份可能會調動投資者的胃口，因爲這意味着購買阿里巴巴IPO股票的投資者將有望從支付寶未來的增長中分享好處，特別是支付寶爲非阿里巴巴客戶提供的支付服務以及支付寶的理財服務。支付寶不公佈自己的利潤或收入數字。

Today, Alipay is controlled by a parent company in which Mr. Ma holds a 46% stake. Other Alibaba co-founders also hold stakes in Alipay's parent company. That parent company also owns the unit that operates Alipay's money-market fund, Yu'E Bao.

不過阿里巴巴和支付寶之間的關係一直存在爭議，顯示出中國企業所有權之間通常相互連接的一個網絡。

SoftBank, a Japanese Internet and mobile service company, has an about 37% stake in Alibaba Group. Yahoo, its second-largest shareholder, owns 24% and Mr. Ma owns roughly 7%.

阿里巴巴創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)在2011年把支付寶從阿里巴巴集團分拆出來，稱此舉是支付寶獲得牌照、根據中國政府新的規定繼續開展業務的必要條件。

Following the 2011 spinoff, Alipay and Alibaba agreed that Alibaba would be paid between $2 billion and $6 billion if Alipay were to go public. Their agreement also sought to ensure that Alipay didn't try to overcharge Alibaba for its payment services. The direct ownership structure under discussion would replace that framework agreement.

在分拆支付寶的問題上，阿里巴巴的大投資者雅虎公司(Yahoo Inc., YHOO)抱怨其在分拆生效後才知曉這一變化。一些投資者認爲此舉會降低他們所持股票的價值，並因此感到憤怒。

Changing the ownership structure could address lingering corporate governance concerns stemming from the 2011 spinoff. That episode offered a reminder of the risks of investing in China, where companies often have to shift direction at Beijing's behest and where foreign investors have little recourse.

阿里巴巴當時說，公司董事會之前就已經討論過分拆的可能性。而雅虎公司聯合創始人楊致遠(Jerry Yang)就是阿里巴巴董事之一。阿里巴巴、雅虎以及另外一個主要投資者軟銀股份有限公司(SoftBank Co., )晚些時候針對分拆條款達成協議。

It might also soothe investors' concerns about potential conflicts of interest, since Mr. Ma's stake in the company that controls Alipay is much bigger than his roughly 7% interest in Alibaba.

如今，馬雲在支付寶的母公司中持有46%的股份。阿里巴巴的其他聯合創始人也都持有支付寶母公司的股份。支付寶母公司旗下的另一家子公司正是負責運營支付寶貨幣市場基金餘額寶的公司。

Alibaba's value derives primarily from its ownership of China's leading online shopping destinations Taobao and Tmall, which together account for about 80% of the Chinese consumer e-commerce market, according to analysts. Those two sites generate most of Alibaba's sales, which grew 62% to $8 billion in 2013, from $4.9 billion in 2012.

日本互聯網和移動服務公司軟銀持有阿里巴巴集團37%的股份。雅虎公司持股24%，是第二大股東。馬雲則持有7%的股份。

Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner estimates Alibaba is worth between $240 billion and $250 billion, and that estimate includes just $6 billion for Alipay, reflecting the potential payout to Alibaba if the ownership structure isn't revised and Alipay eventually lists on its own. Bankers have struggled to value the payments unit since its financial results aren't disclosed and Alibaba has no direct ownership.

在2011年分拆後，支付寶和阿里巴巴達成協議，如果支付寶未來上市，將向阿里巴巴支付20億至60億美元。雙方的協議也是爲了確保支付寶對阿里巴巴收取的支付服務費用不至於過高。當前討論的支付寶所有權結構將替代原先的框架協議。