U.S. retail giant Walmart sold its entire stake in Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com with the goal of setting up its own operation in China.
Walmart revealed the move in securities filing made this week but didn’t disclose how many shares it sold. It previously held 289 million shares of JD.com at the end of 2023, while JD.com stated in April that Walmart owned 9.4% of the company.
On the other hand, Bloomberg reported that Walmart sold 144.5 million shares of JD.com and netted approximately $3.6 billion in the transaction while citing sources familiar with the matter.
“This decision allows us to focus on our strong China operations for Walmart China and Sam’s Club, and deploy capital towards other priorities,” Walmart said in a statement shared on Wednesday.
Both Walmart and JD.com said that the two companies will continue to have a commercial relationship.
As part of its expansion in China and efforts to get a bigger share of a competitive market, Walmart sold its Yihaodian website to JD.com in return for a 5% stake in the e-commerce platform in 2016. Walmart increased its stake in JD.com to 10% shortly after.
While the partnership allowed Walmart to gain exposure in China, it wasn’t as successful as the retailer expected. This became particularly clear in recent years as JD.com is struggling to hold off competition from emerging discount e-commerce rivals.
At the same time, Walmart’s business in China has been booming, and the company likely feels it is time to take full control of its online sales.