Hong Kong — Alibaba Group Holding will buy 33% of Ant Financial, helping to clear the way for an initial public offering of the Chinese payments giant. China’s biggest e-commerce operator will acquire new shares in its finance affiliate in exchange for certain intellectual property rights, the company said Thursday. While no cash is changing hands, Ant Financial will end royalty payments to Alibaba that were worth more than $300m last fiscal year. Alibaba also raised its annual forecast after posting third-quarter sales that topped estimates. Alibaba has not held a stake in the owner of Alipay since founder Jack Ma controversially spun out the business in 2011. Ant Financial has had a string of recent setbacks, with its US expansion thwarted by the collapse of a deal for MoneyGram International while its Chinese business faces greater scrutiny from regulators and increased competition from Tencent Holdings. "This acquisition of Ant Financial’s stake could be a preparation for its po...
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