After spending billions of dollars acquiring technology firms and businesses in China and abroad, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has paid 1.2 billion yuan (around US $191 million) for a 50 percent stake in China's most successful football club.

Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande will now be 50 percent owned by Alibaba, a rather surprising acquisition by a technology firm that has been out looking to buy technology and Internet businesses around the world.

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The official China Business Journal broke the news ahead of the scheduled announcement by Alibaba and Evergrande Group. Two sources knowledgeable with the deal confirmed the acquisition.

Guangzhou Evergrande is a professional Chinese football club headquartered in Guangzhou's 58,000-seat Tianhe Stadium. Last year, the football club became the first Chinese club to win the Asia Football Conference (AFC) Championships League in China's 20-year soccer history.

The same football league finished fourth in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco

While the acquisition by Alibaba of the football club came as surprise to those who have been following the Chinese Internet giant's move, Alibaba founder Jack Ma is not a newcomer to the sport of Soccer.

Last month Ma was reported to have considered buying a 49-percent stake in another football club, the Greentown Football Club in Hangzhou. The details of the reported bid has not been confirmed although Ma was seen visiting the base of Hangzhou's football club in May.

Alibaba is allocating at least US $10 billion to acquire and buy technology and Internet companies around the world ahead of its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, which will become the biggest by a technology company.

Alibaba wanted to list in Hong Kong but regulators in the city did not give in to the demand of the company to adjust some rules, prompting Alibaba to move to the US.

TagsAlibaba Football, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club, Guangzhou Football Club