Alibaba Group (BABA, Financial) has agreed to pay $430 million (approximately 3 billion RMB) to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by its shareholders. This decision was announced in a recent press release. The lawsuit, initiated by U.S. investors in the Southern District of New York, alleged that Alibaba failed to adequately warn them of risks during an antitrust investigation by China's State Administration for Market Regulation between November 2020 and January 2021, leading to economic losses.
Despite agreeing to the settlement, Alibaba did not admit any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement is intended to avoid further litigation costs and distractions. The agreement is subject to court approval and does not imply any acknowledgment of the claims' validity made against Alibaba.
The settlement applies to investors who held Alibaba's U.S. depository shares between November 13, 2019, and December 23, 2020. The plaintiff's attorneys described the settlement as an "extraordinary outcome," noting that it exceeds payments typical in similar class-action lawsuits where investors have lost over $10 billion.
Had the litigation continued, Alibaba's investors could have sought up to $11.63 billion (about 82.88 billion RMB) in damages. This settlement comes after Alibaba completed a three-year compliance rectification mandated by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, which was deemed successful. Alibaba views this as a new starting point for development, emphasizing innovation, compliance, technological investment, and the healthy growth of the platform economy.
Public records revealed that Alibaba started this three-year self-correction in April 2021. As of the recent stock market closure, Alibaba's Hong Kong shares rose by 1.27% to 95.350 HKD per share, while its U.S. shares increased by 1.10% to 97.420 USD per share.
