According to Ant Group on Saturday, Jack Ma no longer has control of the fintech giant. A number of analysts have said that this could clear the path for Ant Group to revive its IPO which was cancelled at the last minute three years ago in 2020.
Thanks to the regulatory crackdown triggered by the Chinese authority that triggered the cancellation, the IPO would’ve been the world’s largest. It was said to be worth approximately US$37 billion at that time. Post-restructuring, after a change in control to list, Ant Group must wait for three years as per the regulation of China’s domestic A-share market. As for Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR market, it’ll be two years while for Hong Kong, it’ll be one year.
Based on Ant’s IPO prospectus filed with the exchanges three years ago, Ma owns a ten per cent stake in Ant. Yet he has control over the company through a number of entities. Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle he owns, has control of those companies that own a combined 50.5 per cent stake in Ant.
