(Reuters) – SoftBank Group Corp has moved to sell almost all of its remaining shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday citing regulatory filings it had analyzed.
The forward sales, which FT analyzed based on filings sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will eventually cut SoftBank’s stake in the Chinese e-commerce group to just 3.8%, according to the report.
The Japanese group, led by billionaire founder Masayoshi Son, has sold about $7.2 billion worth of Alibaba shares this year through prepaid forward contracts, the report added.
Softbank and Alibaba did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)