Alibaba buys shares

NEW YORK: Alibaba has bought nearly 33 million shares of online daily deal service Groupon. Groupon Inc's stock jumped more than 16 per cent in Tuesday pre-market trading. The purchase gives the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse about a 5.6 per cent stake in Groupon. Alibaba disclosed the purchase in a regulatory filing on Friday. The news comes shortly after Groupon reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit and revenue that beat analysts' expectations. Last month Alibaba Group Holding Ltd reported better-than-expected third-quarter results as it benefits from a shift to mobile spending and a growth in users. Shares of Chicago-based Groupon added 48 cents, or 16.6 per cent, to $3.37 before the market opened on Tuesday.