Alibaba says the kids have grown up and it’s time to kick the birds out of the nest.

On the eve of Jack Ma’s return to China for the first time in a year, the Alibaba Group that he founded 24 years ago will be split into six different businesses.

While nearly 70 per cent of Alibaba’s 170 billion yuan (US$24.7 billion) revenue in the third quarter came from its domestic commerce unit of Taobao Marketplace and Tmall, other units from Cainiao logistics to cloud computing services have the potential for more growth, analysts have said.

Group CEO Daniel Zhang says he hopes there will be ‘multiple listed companies emerging from the Alibaba system’.And Investors seemed happy about Alibaba’s restructuring, Shares of the New York and Hong Kong-listed company saw their biggest surge in more than a quarter.

“When the kids are grown, they need to leave home to face the market by themselves,” Group CEO Zhang Yong said. “I hope there will be multiple listed companies emerging from the Alibaba system, and that they will continue to nurture their own sons and daughters, and cultivate more listed companies.”

Referencing: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3215268/expect-multiple-ipos-after-alibaba-splits-six-units-major-overhaul-e-commerce-giant-ceo-daniel-zhang