China-based e-commerce company Alibaba set the range for its long-awaited US initial public offering on Friday, through which it will seek to raise almost $24.3bn.
The company plans to issue just over 320 million shares priced between $60 and $66 each, which would equate to the largest IPO in history. It did not offer any details concerning its plans for the proceeds apart from its intention to invest the money outside of its home country.
Internet company Yahoo plans to sell 121.7 million shares in the offering, which would cut its stake from 22.4% to 16.3% and net it approximately $8bn in proceeds. Yahoo paid $1bn for a 40% stake in the company in 2005, which was reduced after Alibaba bought back a proportion of the shares for $7.1bn.
Japan-based telecommunications firm Softbank, Alibaba’s largest shareholder, owns a 34.1% stake that will be diluted to 32.4% through the offering. It does not intend to sell any shares.
Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs (Asia), JP Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets are serving as joint bookrunners of this IPO, while an additional 29 firms will also be acting as underwriters.