Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) plans to buy a 15 percent stake in China's Easyhome for about 5.45 billion yuan or $866 million.

The e-commerce giant said it will invest in Beijing Easyhome Furnishing Chain Store Group Co., and support the digital transformation of its 223 stores in 29 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, by applying Alibaba's expertise in cloud and logistics platforms. It will also be able to provide consumer insights.

"From home design to refurbishment projects, the two parties will provide customers with end-to-end home improvement solutions," the company added.

The deal comes after aggressive offline expansion made by Alibaba under Jack Ma's newly coined term "new retail".

(Source：markets.businessinsider.com）