"Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has led a $206 million investment in a rival to Amazon.com Inc. one of its biggest U.S. moves as the Chinese e-commerce giant considers an initial public offering here.
Alibaba invested in ShopRunner Inc., which offers unlimited two-day shipping from retailers including Toys "R" Us Inc. andRadioShak Corp a $79 annual fee.American ExpressCo. has also taken a small stake in ShopRunner.
As part of the deal, eBay Inc. sold its prior 30% holding in ShopRunner for a profit, said a person familiar with the matter. The deal values ShopRunner at about $600 million, the person said, and completes a funding round in which Alibaba previously chipped in about $70 million. It isn't clear exactly how much Alibaba invested, but it did put in the majority of the funding"
Source: The Wall Street Journal
