The WSJ reports,"Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. officially filed plans Tuesday to offer its shares in the U.S., in what is expected to be one of the largest stock listings in history.
Alibaba's initial public offering filing to U.S. securities regulators revealed the breadth and scale of China's online-shopping behemoth. It also kicks off a whirlwind sale season in which Wall Street will pitch the mega stock listing".
Alibaba has arranged half dozen of the world's biggest banks to help place its shares, and money managers and small investors are expected to size up the company, which is familiar to many in the Western world more by reputation than firsthand experience.
The launch of the deal is still a few months away.
So far, the estimates of Alibaba's valuehave been mostly guesswork based on comparable companies. The IPO prospectus provides the first extensive look at Alibaba's finances. Until now, Alibaba has only disclosed some bare-bones financial information via filings ofYahoo Inc., the holder of a 24% stake.
