(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- Shares of JD Logistics rose after the Chinese provider of logistics services and supply chain solutions said it will buy a local instant delivery business from its parent company, e-commerce giant JD.Com, for USD270 million.

After climbing by as much as 4.5 percent in Hong Kong trading earlier today, JD Logistics [HKG: 2618] closed up 3.5 percent at HKD12.99 (USD1.67) per share. JD.Com [HKG: 9618] ended little changed at HKD135.70 (USD17.44).

JD Logistics will buy all of JD.Com’s wholly owned subsidiaries Dajiang and Dasheng, the Beijing-based unit announced today. The acquisition constitutes a related party transaction, as JD.Com owns 63 percent of JD Logistics, it said.

The target business is part of JD.Com’s instant delivery platform Dada Nexus, which was delisted from the Nasdaq stock market in June after being taken private by JD.Com, a source familiar with the matter told Yicai. Dada Nexus is a key player in China’s fast-growing on-demand retail and delivery sector, competing with the likes of Meituan and Alibaba Group Holdings’ Ele.me.

Meituan’s shares [HKG: 3690] ended little changed at HKD103.60 apiece today, while Alibaba [HKG: 9988] fell 2.4 percent to HKD173.30. In pre-market trading in New York, Alibaba’s American repositary shares [NYSE: BABA] were trading 1.4 percent lower at USD178.52 each as of 8.39 a.m. local time.

JD Logistics said the acquisition of Dajiang and Dasheng will broaden its solutions and services portfolio, complementing its existing offerings. The integration is expected to expand the company’s last-mile delivery capabilities, consolidate resources, and enhance fulfilment capacity, operational efficiency, and user experience, it added.

JD.Com’s instant delivery business has been growing quickly since it entered the takeout market earlier this year. Daily orders averaged 25 million in the second quarter, helping new business revenue to soar nearly 200 percent from a year ago, according to its first-half earnings report.

Rapid growth in the takeout business has also spurred JD Logistics to start recruiting full-time delivery drivers, the firm said, adding that the business has considerable commercial potential and opportunities for further development.

Net profit at JD Logistics jumped 14 percent to CNY2.6 billion (USD365 million) in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier after revenue increased by the same degree to CNY98.5 billion (USD13.8 billion), the earnings report also showed.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Tom Litting