According to a September 12th article in the New York Times, orders for the impending Alibaba IPO are coming in so quickly that the banks leading the IPO expect to close their order books early. Knowledgeable sources also say there is a possibility the principals may decide to raise the price range for the stock sale, which is already slated to bring in $21.1 billion.
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Details on Alibaba IPO
As confirmed by multiple sources including Bloomberg, underwriters for the Alibaba IPO ordered their sales staffs on Friday that they would close all orders for the offering by this coming Wednesday afternoon. Moreover, the sources hinted that that Alibaba was also likely to raise the price range for the stock sale apst the curret $60 to $66.
The sources indicated would stop accepting orders from U.S. investors Tuesday at 4 p.m. Asian and European money managers would have until the close of their business day to submit their orders.
[drizzle]That said, it was also made clear that investors who are interested but have not met with the Alibaba executives by the new deadline will be given some additional time to place their orders.
No sensitivity to price
Of note, the underwriters also commented that they had received many orders with little to no “no sensitivity” to the current price range of $60 to $66 a share for the IPO. Analysts point out that with demand this great for shares, it’s likely the investment banks will go ahead and pull the trigger and increase the price range of what was already expected to be one of the largest IPOs in history.
The high level of interest among potential investors has been clear for some time, but the degree of public excitement became even more obvious when the company kicked off its global roadshow early this week. Sources say over 800 money managers came to the the Waldorf-Astoria in Midtown Manhattan for a lunchtime presentation hosted by Alibaba’s executive chairman and co-founder, Jack Ma, with a number of latecomers being told there was no room for them.
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