Alibaba raises IPO as demand strengthens
Alibaba Group Holdings has raised its initial public offering to $66 to $68, demonstrating the high demand from investors for the year’s most anticipated debut and potentially the world’s largest-ever IPO.
Alibaba has attracted investors willing to buy into the country’s rapid growth and its evolving Internet sector since the company handles more transactions than Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and eBay Inc (EBAY.O) combined.
The company and selling shareholders will now raise almost $22 billion at the top of the new IPO range.
Alibaba can still decide to price its IPO above the indicated range. But a source close to the deal told Reuters the final level will be “investor-friendly.”
“After being listed in the U.S., we will develop our business in Europe and in the U.S.,” Ma told a packed group of journalists ahead of his presentation to investors. “We will not give up the Asia market because, as I would say, we are not a company from China, we are an Internet company that happened to be in China.”
Alibaba picked New York for its debut after Hong Kong officials rejected its request to allow a small group of company insiders to nominate the majority of its board.
The company is expected to price the deal on Sept. 18. It will start trading a day later
Source: Reuters
