Groupon Receives Boost as Alibaba Buys Stake

Alibaba disclosed in an SEC filing late Friday that it acquired nearly 33 million shares of Groupon in the fourth quarter. That works out to about a 5.6 percent stake. This makes Alibaba the fourth-largest owner of Groupon. Shares of Groupon soared more than 40 percent in midday trading. That follows a nearly 30 percent jump on Friday after Groupon reported a surprise profit and sales that topped Wall Street's forecasts. The company's latest results — combined with the endorsement from Alibaba — is welcome news for Groupon.