Alibaba boosts IPO as demand strengthens

FE Team | Published: September 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd raised the price range on its initial public offering (IPO) to $66 to $68 on Monday, reflecting strong demand from investors for the year's most anticipated debut and potentially the world's largest-ever IPO.
The Chinese e-commerce company, which handles more transactions than Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc combined, has attracted investors keen to buy into the country's rapid growth and its evolving Internet sector.
The company and selling shareholders will now raise almost $22 billion at the top of the new IPO range. Alibaba remains on track to set an IPO record if underwriters exercise an option to sell additional shares to meet demand, overtaking Agricultural Bank of China Ltd's $22.1 billion listing in 2010.
Alibaba embarked on its roadshow for the IPO last week and attracted enough demand to cover its entire deal within two days, people familiar with the process said last week. Trading is expected to kick off this week.
The company and some shareholders previously offered 320.1 million American depositary shares at an initial $60 to $66 indicative range. It raised the price on Monday but left the number of shares unchanged.
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."
"Demand has been overwhelming since the launch," said the person, who couldn't be named because details of the IPO aren't yet public. "Increasing the price range was already on the cards from the beginning."
Reuters reported on Friday that Alibaba plans to close its IPO order book early, after it received enough orders to sell all the shares in the record-breaking offering.
Alibaba plans to expand its business in the United States and Europe after the much anticipated IPO, billionaire founder Jack Ma said on Monday as the Chinese e-commerce titan pitched its record deal to investors in Asia.