Alibaba Group on Monday played down the significance of its politically-connected investors ahead of an IPO in New York, South China Morning Post reported, citing a company statement. Alibaba was responding to an article in The New York Times on Monday which said three Chinese investment firms trying to finance a US$7.6 billion deal to help Alibaba buy back half of Yahoo!’s (YHOO.NASDAQ) stake had connections with the Communist Party elite, and a fourth company, co-founded by the son of former premier Wen Jiabao, also had a stake. Alibaba said the background of its investors mattered less to the company than the market.
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