SEATTLE — Alibaba Group has emerged as a significant owner of Seattle-based zulily after an intense shopping spree that began Wednesday, a move that underscores the Chinese online retailer’s growing interest in the U.S.
Through an investment subsidiary, Alibaba bought 4.8 million zulily Class A shares, for about $56 million, according to securities documents filed late Friday.
That brings its total ownership in zulily, a moms-oriented online retailer, to some 11.5 million shares, close to one sixth of the company’s Class A stock, worth about $156 million. Its earlier stake of less than 5 percent had not been previously disclosed.
Those Class A shares, however, have just a tenth of the voting power of the restricted Class B stock, most of which is controlled by the company’s founders.
Alibaba’s investment amounts to about 9.3 percent of zulily’s total shares, which as of market close on Friday had a market capitalization of $1.64 billion. As of March, no other investor had as many Class A shares in zulily.
