TMCnet News
Alibaba closes in on a large New York offering [Herald, The (Scotland)](Herald, The (Scotland) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CHINESE e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding is planning to launch its New York stock market debut in the week of September 8, according to reports. The much-anticipated sale, or initial public offering (IPO), could raise more than $20 billion (pound(s)12bn), making it the biggest technology listing in the United States. Analysts have suggested the company, which has its headquarters in Hangzhou, is likely to be valued at close to $200bn while more bullish estimates suggest a $245bn price tag. Even at the lower valuation Alibaba would instantly be one of the 20 biggest companies listed in US markets and be more valuable than other online retailers such as Amazon or eBay . At the moment Alibaba is still awaiting final approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to kick-off the listing, although a number of sources have suggested those talks will be finalised this week. Last week Alibaba reported a 46 per cent increase in revenue to $2.54bn, for the three months to June. Net income in the period almost tripled to $1.99bn as the business saw strong returns from its mobile strategy. At the moment Alibaba accounts for around 80 per cent of all online retail sales in China. It said it had 279 million active buyers at the end of June, which was up 50 per cent from a year earlier. The average active buyer placed 52 orders in the same period, up from 45 in the previous year. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |