Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce firm with $296 billion in gross merchandise volume, priced its IPO at $68, within the upwardly-revised range of $66 to $68.
Assuming it offered 320,106,100 ADSs, the company raised $21.8 billion, making it the largest IPO ever; 13% larger than China's ABC Bank in 2010. At $68, Alibaba commands a fully diluted market cap of $176 billion, about the size of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and among the top 25 most valuable US-listed companies.
Eight is a lucky number in China, which the company appears to appreciate. The "ba" sound in Alibaba is the same sound for the number 8. The deal launched its IPO on September 8 to price on September 18 at $68. Could investors bid the stock up to $88? A 29% pop on the first day is not typical for deals this large, but Alibaba has defied expectations before and investors appear ready to invest in the IPO space as the Renaissance IPO ETF trades around the year's highs.
Alibaba plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol BABA. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citi acted as lead managers on the deal.
