Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, co-founders of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., are reportedly targeting Aug. 8 as the date for the company's initial public offering.
The co-founders are reportedly looking at the date because "eight" can be translated to "ba" in Chinese, which means "fortune." The company even has repeating "ba's" in its name and would like to have BABA as the company's ticker symbol, as per Bloomberg sources.
Alibaba's IPO could turn out to be the largest one ever in the U.S., with a float size that could reach over $20 billion, as the company's value could be around $152 billion, which is the average amount from a Reuters survey of 25 analysts.
The company is preparing its employees for the wealth that they can gain upon Alibaba's New York listing. Present and past employees of Alibaba hold a total of 26.7 percent of the shares of the company, collected over the years through stock options and incentives. Employees who choose to sell their shares after Alibaba's IPO could become instant millionaires, as 26.7 percent of the company's worth is roughly around $40.6 billion.
In Alibaba's IPO prospectus, the company revealed its concerns on the wealth that their employees could gain, which could make them decide to leave the company.
"It may be difficult for us to continue to retain and motivate these employees, and this wealth could affect their decisions about whether or not they remain with us," the company said.
Top officials from Alibaba, however, have been in talks with employees lately regarding how the windfall gains of the IPO could be life-changing, but warning them to spend their would-be wealth wisely instead of luxurious items such as vehicles and lofty apartments. Savio Kwan, Alibaba's former Chief Operating Officer, participated in the talks, along with experts to discuss leadership, personal development and business goals with the employees.
Moving back the IPO is still an option for Alibaba though, perhaps to the following month of September. This is because, during the month, fund managers are out of office on their summer vacations, leading to slumping U.S. trading volumes. Of the top 100 IPOs in the U.S., only two have so far launched in August, with these two companies being Petroleo Brasileiro SA and fellow tech company Google.
Moving the IPO to September may not be a bad option for the Chinese company, as "nine," which in Mandarin sounds like "long lasting," is another lucky number.
SoftBank Corp. is the largest shareholder of Alibaba with a 34.4 percent stake, followed by Yahoo Inc. with 22.6 percent.
Image: Andrew Magill | Flickr
