Alibaba has taken a further step into new retail, its bid to fuse ecommerce and physical stores, splashing out $2.9bn for a stake in one of China’s biggest supermarket chains.

The HK$22.4bn (US$2.9bn) deal, which initially sees Alibaba acquire an aggregate direct and indirect 36.16 per cent slice of Sun Art Retail Group, triggers a mandatory takeover offer under Hong Kong rules as the Chinese ecommerce group is acting together with fellow Sun Art shareholders Auchan Retail of France and Taiwan’s Ruentex Group.

However, the lowball price suggests the chances of take-up are slim. Alibaba is offering HK$6.50 a share, a 24 per cent discount to Friday’s close of HK$8.60 — a differential that sent Sun Art shares down as much as 13.6 per cent on Monday before they closed down 4.1 per cent at HK$8.25.