China’s Alibaba eyes record-breaking IPO

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. unveiled plans for an initial public offering that values the company at $155 billion, which would instantly make it one of the largest listed in the U.S. and mark one of the biggest stock-market debuts ever. The Chinese e-commerce company, in papers filed Friday, valued itself just below rival Amazon.com Inc.’s $160 billion market capitalization. The shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange the following week, under the symbol “BABA.” Also on Friday, Alibaba disclosed that it would pay $15.8 million in legal fees to law firm Simpson Thacher and other attorneys who advised the Chinese e-commerce giant on its upcoming IPO, six times what Facebook paid its counsel two years ago. The legal fees for Alibaba’s IPO rank the fourth highest in the past 10 years, according to IPO Vital Signs. Facebook Inc.’s May 2012 IPO garnered $2.6 million in legal fees.

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