(Yicai Global) Nov. 30 -- Chinese tour operator Caissa Tourism Group has become flight and hotel booker Tuniu's second-largest shareholder after its unit completed a CNY458 million (USD69.6 million) share purchase.

A subsidiary of Caissa bought 7,800 Class A common shares o the Nanjing-headquartered travel agent, the buyer said in a statement on Nov. 28. The firm had reached an agreement with JD.Com's units to acquire the equity, according to its bourse filing on June 22.

Caissa has teamed up with Tuniu and JD.Com before. Caissa's listed unit and the travel platform have agreed to cooperate on integrating resources and exploring innovative financial models. In April, Beijing-based JD.Com participated in Caissa Tosun Development's private placement and after that, the tourism service provider opened a flagship store on the e-commerce platform.

Caissa Tosun Development's stock price [SHE: 000796] was 0.5 percent up at CNY13.45 (USD2) this morning.

Tuniu's shares [NASDAQ: TOUR] tumbled by 9.6 percent to USD3.19 on Nov. 27 before the announcement. Since March, its stock price has been hovering around USD1 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Editor: Emmi Laine