Alibaba Group Holding files for public listing in US

NEW YORK: E-commerce major Alibaba Group Holding has filed for a public listing in the US, which is being tipped to become the largest debut by a technology firm. Though Alibaba has not specified the number or price of shares it will offer or what valuation it will seek, reports suggest the offer could raise as much as US $ 20 billion. This would be higher than the USD 16 billion raised by Facebook, when it listed shares in 2012.

The details of the offer will be provided closer to the actual sale date. The value of transactions on Alibaba's platforms was USD 248 billion last year across its three main marketplaces, more than players like Amazon and eBay. The number of annual active buyers rose 14 per cent to 231 million, according to the filing.

Alibaba, founded in 1999 by former English teacher Jack Ma in a Hangzhou apartment, is the world's largest online marketplace. Its investors include Yahoo! Inc and SoftBank Corp. Jack owns 8.9 per cent in Alibaba, while Yahoo and Softbank own 22.6 per cent and 34.4 per cent, respectively. Alibaba provides various marketplaces for buyers and sellers as well as services that help them conduct their businesses. Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc are managing the offer.