(Yicai Global) Aug. 11 -- An affiliate of property developer Sunac China Holdings spent CNY200 million (USD31 million) to acquire a small stake in an online-to-offline wine and liquor retailer backed by Alibaba Group.

Tianjin Runze Property Management bought about 2 percent of 1919 Wines & Spirits Platform Technology through a private placement, the Chengdu-based retailer said in a statement on Aug. 9. Proceeds of the sale will be mostly used to replenish working capital, buy famous wines, and speed up business development, according to 1919’s revised placement plan released on July 26.

Companies from outside the industry are investing in liquor-related businesses in search of profits, and not necessarily to help the sector grow, at a time when their own businesses are struggling, Shen Meng, executive director at boutique investment bank Chanson & Co., told Yicai Global.

Alibaba China Network Technology bought into 1919 in January 2019, taking a 29 percent stake for CNY2 billion (USD308.5 million) to become its biggest owner after parent company 1919 Group.

1919 Wines & Spirits, set up in 2010, retails and wholesales alcoholic drinks online and through bricks-and-mortar stores. It is listed on Beijing’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations, an over-the-counter market also known as the New Third Board. The firm’s stock price [NEEQ:830993] stood at CNY45.87 (USD7.10) today.

1919 reported a CNY280 million net loss last year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it returned to profit in the first quarter of this year, making CNY52.7 million (USD8.1 million).

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione