Jack Ma May Be Divesting His Stake In Ant Group, Giving Up Control: Reuters

Jack Ma May Be Divesting His Stake In Ant Group, Giving Up Control: Reuters

Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.Bibhu PattnaikApril 17, 2021, 12:18 PM·2 min readOops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.Ant Group along with Chinese regulators reportedly are working out a way forward for the company and exploring ways for Jack Ma to exit.What Happened: Jack Ma, founder of Ant Group, reportedly may divest his stake and give up his control to begin easing China's scrutiny of the company, Reuters reported, citing sources close to the company.Between January and March, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and financial regulators held talks with Ma and Ant Group separately and discussed the possibility of Ma's exit from the company.Reuters said the decision about Ma's exit was being discussed in meetings with officials. But an Ant Group spokesperson issued a statement to the outlet, saying Ma's exit "has never been the subject of discussions with anyone."Sources told Reuters the company hoped Ma's stake would be sold to Ant investors or Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) without the involvement of any external entity.This past week, following an ultimatum from the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, Ant said it would become a financial holding company that