SHANGHAI - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has offered to privatize its Hong Kong-listed arm Alibaba.com Ltd at a price of HK$13.5 per share, the companies said in a joint statement released Tuesday night.

The price represents a 60.4-percent premium over the company's 60-day average closing price and a 55.3-percent premium over its latest 10-day average closing price, according to the statement.

The Alibaba Group will finance the privatization through external debt financing provided by a consortium of banks, as well as internal cash resources, it said.

The offer, which is being made at the same price as Alibaba.com's initial public offering in late 2007, will not be increased, as the Alibaba Group does not reserve the right to do so according to Hong Kong regulations.

The company's strategic shift to long-term value creation may affect its revenue growth and limit earning visibility in the foreseeable future, it said.

The privatization plan will give minority shareholders opportunities to turn their investment earnings into cash, the statement said.

The Alibaba Group, as well as two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, own 73.5 percent of Alibaba.com, with the remaining 26.5 percent owned by public investors.