Chinese billionaire Jack Ma (馬雲), the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), has snapped up two historic French vineyards for about 12 million euros (US$13.56 million).
Ma bought the Chateau Guerry and the Chateau Perenne, dating back to the 18th century, in the heart of the fabled Bordeaux wine-growing region.
Their owner, French wine magnate Bernard Magrez, confirmed the sale late on Thursday after the transaction was reported by the British specialized magazine Decanter.
The Chateau Perenne is spread over 64 hectares in the Blaye Cotes-de-Bourg appellation, producing about 500,000 bottles of red and white wine annually.
Chateau Guerry is the oldest estate in the Cotes de Bourg appellation, producing 84,000 bottles of red wine per year over about 20 hectares.
The purchases add to the Chateau de Sours vineyard, which Ma bought in Bordeaux’ Entre-Deux-Mers wine region in February.
Magrez said that the sale of the estates were part of a “strategy to move away from entry-level Bordeaux wines” to top-level appellations.
More than 100 properties in France’s southwest wine-producing area are owned by Chinese tycoons looking to diversify their fortunes. This makes up 1.5 percent of the region’s 7,000 vineyards.
Part of the appeal for the Chinese is the status that comes with possessing a noble French chateau as part of their wine-growing property.
China is the biggest consumer of red wine in the world and remains the top export market for Bordeaux.
In related news, Alibaba’s finance affiliate has acquired a 20 percent stake in Shanghai Suntime Information Technology Co (上海朝陽永續信息技術), a data provider tracking Chinese hedge funds, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group (螞蟻金服) paid 250 million yuan (US$38 million) in cash for the stake earlier this week, tapping the potential of China’s rapidly growing hedge fund industry as more wealthy Chinese turn to private managers.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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