Alibaba takes control of Sun Art hypermarkets

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will invest about $3.6 billion to double its stake in Sun Art Retail Group Ltd., taking control of China’s largest chain of hypermarts to try and fend off rivals like JD.com Inc. in e-commerce’s hottest growth arena.

Alibaba will raise its direct and indirect stake in the grocery chain to about 72% by acquiring equity from Auchan Retail International SA, then make a general offer to shareholders to buy out the rest of Sun Art. The latter’s Hong Kong-listed stock leapt as much as 30% Monday, its biggest intraday gain since 2011. Alibaba gained as much as 1.8% to touch an intraday record.