Alibaba partners keeping control

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will be governed by a partnership with exclusive rights to nominate a majority of its board of directors, the company said, unveiling the details of a structure that kept it from pursuing an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

The partnership has 28 members and will elect new ones each year. The members are required to maintain a "meaningful level of equity interest" in the company, according to a regulatory filing in the United States. The system enables Alibaba founder Jack Ma and his management team to keep control as the Hangzhou-based company expands beyond its origins as an online marketplace.

While Hong Kong's regulators rejected the structure, it is permitted in the US, where companies more commonly create two classes of shares to keep insiders in charge.