On August 21st, Xia Lian, former CFO of Zebra Network, commented on Alibaba's plan to spin off Zebra and list it in Hong Kong on social media. According to public information, in August 2019, Alibaba and SAIC initiated a restructuring of Zebra, with Zhang Chunhui appointed as the co CEO of Zebra Intelligence. Subsequently, founding members such as Cheng Li, Huang Youyong, Xu Qiang, Xia Lian, who had made great contributions to AliOS, joined Zebra and took on core management roles such as CMO, COO, CIO, and CFO. The encyclopedia also shows that Xia Lian is the financial manager of Zebra. Unlike most executives who wish their former employer would soon go public, Xia Lian's comments on her social media account are quite negative.
The core point of Xia Lian's roast: First, she left because she was not optimistic about the company's development. The second is to question whether Zebra's listing is for making money, and to leave because one does not want to compromise. The third is to publicly diss some of Zebra's executives. Even more surprising is that Xia Lian said she helped some good friends lower the valuation of Zebra by 50% when she left.
Yesterday, Alibaba Group announced plans to spin off its intelligent cockpit solution provider Zebra Network Technology Co., Ltd. and list it independently on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Zebra Network has submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and plans to conduct a global offering, including a Hong Kong public offering and an international offering. Zebra Network is mainly engaged in the development of intelligent cockpit solutions, providing system level OS solutions, AI full stack end-to-end solutions, and in vehicle platform services.
The company will no longer be included in the consolidation scope of Alibaba Group from December 27, 2024, and currently Alibaba holds approximately 44.72% of its shares. After completing the equity structure adjustment and spin off, Alibaba will continue to hold over 30% of the shares in Zebra Network and use the equity method for accounting treatment. It is reported that the spin off listing still requires approval from the Listing Committee of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and completion of relevant filings with the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
