Alibaba prices IPO at $68 a share ahead of New York stock flotation
Early investors in Chinese online giant Alibaba are set to sell $8bn worth of shares Friday morning, escaping the “lockup” that usually requires them to hold their shares for several months.
The disclosure, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is just one more complication ahead of what looks set to be the biggest stock market floatation of all time on Friday.
Alibaba set the price of its shares on Thursday at $68, the top end of its planned range, and is expected to raise up to $22bn (£13.5bn). At $68 a share, the company is valued at $167.6bn – bigger than Amazon and more than double the value of eBay.
The sale of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which will be listed under the ticker BABA, follows a two-week global roadshow which has resulted in frenzied interest from investors eager to buy into the rapid growth of China’s internet sector.
Jack Ma, 50, founder and executive chairman of the company, is known for his flamboyant style that has seen him dress up as Lady Gaga in the past to entertain staff. Formerly a university lecturer he started Alibaba 15 years ago in his one-bedroom flat and retains a 9% stake.
Ma is set to sell 12.7m shares at the IPO – worth $842m at $66 a share. Other investors, not identified by name in Alibaba’s filings, hold $8bn of shares that can be sold at IPO.
Source: theguardian- Alibaba prices IPO at $68 a share ahead of New York stock flotation
