In a move that should come as no surprise to Wall Street, sources told Bloomberg that Alibaba, the most anticipated IPO since Facebook, is planning on raising its reported debut price of $66 a share to “just below $70.”
Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
The news outlet said that the Chinese e-commerce giant, which is slated to begin trading its stock September 19 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BABA,” is citing “investor demand” as the reason for increasing the upper end of its marketed price range.
However, at the same time, Alibaba founder Jack Ma allegedly told investors that “he won’t seek too high a valuation.” Reportedly, Ma is still feeling burned by what happened in 2007 when Alibaba fell below its IPO price despite initially soaring after it began trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange. In 2012, Ma delisted the stock at its IPO price.
Even at the IPO’s previously announced price range of $60 to $66 per share, Alibaba could net as much as $24.3 billion (including the over-allotment option). That would trounce the world’s previous IPO record set by Agricultural Bank of China, which raised $22.1 billion when it went public in 2010.
The final price for the IPO will be revealed on September 18, a source told Bloomberg.
Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are serving as underwriters. Rothschild is acting as an independent IPO adviser to Alibaba.
Source: Bloomberg Alibaba Plans to Boost IPO Price on Strong Demand
Photo courtesy of Alibaba Group
