Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is reportedly in talks to sell its stake in online booking and discount platform Meituan-Dianping for about $1 billion, AsiaFirst reported. According to a Financial Times report, Alibaba is divesting its stake in the online-to-offline website, which is likened to Groupon of the US, as it seeks to switch attention to its Koubei platform. Alibaba declined to comment on the news. One source interviewed by the Financial Times said Koubei, which was launched by Alibaba last June, is a strategic direction for the e-commerce giant while Meituan is a financial investment.
