Ant Group’s valuation has been trimmed by global investors including BlackRock Inc and Fidelity Investments, which bought private shares ahead of the Chinese fintech giant’s scuppered initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Fidelity Investments cut its estimate for Ant to $70 billion at the end of May, down from $78 billion in June last year, and $235 billion just before Ant’s $37-billion IPO was suspended by regulators in November 2020, according to Bloomberg calculations based on filings.
BlackRock Inc lowered the value to $151 billion as of March from $174 billion while T Rowe Price Group Inc trimmed it to $112 billion as of May, compared with $189 billion last year.
According to Bloomberg, Ant’s valuation now ranges between $70 billion and $151 billion.
Ant has ramped up its capital base to 35 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) as part of the government-ordered restructuring. The Hangzhou-based company is also making another internal structural change to empower its board of directors as part of a broader revamp to satisfy regulatory requirements. It also established a new committee under its board to oversee risk management and consumer protection, the company said in a semi-annual report released last week.
While Ant said in June it has no plans to initiate a new IPO, Chairman Jing reportedly said last year that it would eventually go public.
This also comes a week after the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese billionaire Jack Ma plans to give up control of Ant Group, an effort to move away from affiliate Alibaba Group. In a filing in July, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd reiterated that Ma “intends to reduce and thereafter limit his direct and indirect economic interest in Ant Group over time” to a percentage that does not exceed 8.8%.
Last month, Alibaba said it would apply for a primary listing in Hong Kong, which could allow it to be included in the stock connect link with Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.