Groupon stocks jump as Alibaba buys nearly 33M shares

In this Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 photo, Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma speaks to the media in Hong Kong. (AP/Kin Cheung)

NEW YORK -- Alibaba has bought nearly 33 million shares of online daily deal service Groupon.

Groupon Inc.'s stock jumped more than 40 per cent in afternoon trading Tuesday.

The purchase gives the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse about a 5.6 per cent stake in Groupon. Alibaba disclosed the purchase in a regulatory filing on Friday.

The news comes shortly after Groupon reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit and revenue that beat analysts' expectations.

Last month Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported better-than-expected third-quarter results as it benefits from a shift to mobile spending and a growth in users.

Shares of Chicago-based Groupon added $1.17, or 40.4 per cent, to $4.06 in afternoon trading Tuesday. U.S. shares of China-based Alibaba rose $5.97, or 9.8 per cent, to $66.86.