Intime's shares up 38 percent after Alibaba leads offer to take it private

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of Intime Retail (Group) Co Ltd <1833.HK> were set to surge 38 percent when it resumes trade on Tuesday after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd joined forces with the founder of the department store operator to take it private for $2.6 billion.

Intime's shares were set to open at HK$9.70. Trading in the stock had been halted since Dec. 28.

Alibaba Investment Ltd and Shen Guo Jun jointly offered to take Intime private for HK$10 per share, representing a 42.25 percent premium over its last trading price of HK$7.03 each.

(Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Eric Meijer)