Walmart seeks to raise up to $3.74 bln in sale of JD.com stake, term sheet shows
Recasts with fresh sourcing, adds Walmart statement in paragraphs 3-4, JD.com Hong Kong share price in paragraph 5
Aug 20 (Reuters) -U.S. retailer Walmart WMT.N is seeking to raise up to $3.74 billion by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com 9618.HK, JD.O, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Walmart is offering 144.5 million American depositary shares in the price range of $24.85 to $25.85, the term sheet shows, and Morgan Stanley is the broker-dealer of the offering.
Walmart said in a statement that JD.com had been a valued partner over the past eight years, and the U.S. retailer was committed to a continued commercial relationship with the Chinese e-commerce giant.
"This decision allows us to focus on our strong China operations for Walmart China and Sam's Club, and deploy capital towards other priorities," Walmart said.
JD.com's Hong Kong-listed shares fell more than 10% in early trading on Wednesday. U.S.-listed shares dropped 10% in after-market trading on Tuesday to $25.50 after Bloomberg first reported the share sale plan.
JD.com declined to comment. Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Walmart is the largest shareholder of JD.com and owns a 5.19% stake in the e-commerce company, according to LSEG data.
The partnership between the two companies began in 2016, when Walmart sold its Chinese online grocery store, Yihaodian, in return for a 5% stake in JD.com.
Reporting by Summer Zhen in Hong Kong, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Shilpi Majumdar and Jamie Freed
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