Alibaba to buy controlling stake in Lazada for about $1 billion

(Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Tuesday it agreed to buy a controlling stake in online retailer Lazada for about $1 billion to expand its platform into Southeast Asia. Alibaba would invest about $500 million in newly issued Lazada shares and acquire shares from shareholders of Lazada for a total of about $1 billion. Lazada operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.