Fox Business Network reports that Chinese E-commerce company Alibaba is looking to go public in the first two weeks of August, which means that a marketing trip for the deal, known as a roadshow, and where the company is expected to take in investors in Hong Kong, Boston, New York, San Francisco and London, could begin as early as the end of July.
The report however, cautioned that the offering’s actual timing will still depend on market conditions.
“If market conditions are not favorable, Alibaba will delay that process, aiming for a listing in the first week or two of September.”
The Wall Street Journal on Friday cited sources familiar with Alibaba’s planning saying shares of the company will likely go on sale to the public in August. The Chinese e-commerce giant plans to raise $1 billion initially, and then $15 billion to $20 billion, which could surpass Facebook (FB)’s $16 billion IPO in 2012. The much anticipated IPO has the potential to be the largest tech offering ever.
Alibaba has been planning its IPO for quite some time and last month appointed James Wilkerson, former chief of staff to ex-U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to run its international corporate affairs office, signaling its intention to become a major global operation after going public.
Alibaba plans to list its ADR, which it values at $56 up from $50 in June, under the ticker symbol ‘BABA’ on the NYSE.
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