(Telecompaper) Alibaba Group announced the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Suning, one of China's largest offline consumer retailers, for CNY 28.3 billion (USD 4.63 billion). After the closing the investment, Alibaba will be the second-largest shareholder in the company. As part of the deal, Suning will also buy CNY 14 billion new shares in Alibaba, giving a 1.1 percent stake in the e-commerce giant. The two companies agreed to work together to build synergies in e-commerce, logistics and incremental business through joint omni-channel initiatives. Under the collaboration, Suning will open a flagship store on Alibaba's Tmall.com platform, focusing on consumer electronics, home appliances and baby products. In logistics, Suning will become a partner of Cainiao, Alibaba's logistics affiliate, and Alibaba will gain access to Suning's nationwide logistics network covering over 90 percent of China's counties. The cooperation is expected to give Alibaba consumers outlets for a physical experience with products, while still being able to make orders and payments online and over mobile devices. They will also have access to after-sale services in Suning's over 1,600 retail stores in 289 cities across China and its over 3,000 after-sales service locations and 5,000 affiliate partners.