Rumor: Taobao to IPO

Tencent Tech, 4/22/09

An industry source has stated B2C and C2C e-commerce firm Taobao, a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group, is currently preparing to go public, and expects to list on an American stock exchange in 2010. The company plans to place equal focus on B2C and C2C to generate profit.

Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba Group, stated in March that the Alibaba Group was looking for an American partner to help expand its US business, and emphasized that the move was not to compete against existing players but to look for cooperation to help SMEs, a statement some analysts see positioning to prepare the company for listing and to obtain additional capital. In addition to seeking investment from eBay, Taobao is also attempting to increase its name recognition in American investment markets in preparation for its IPO.

Editor's Note: For more background on the Alibaba Group's efforts to form partnerships with US firms, please see "Alibaba Looking for US Partner", MD 3/16/09 issue.

Keywords: timetable financing Alibaba B2C C2C e-commerce eBay Internet IPO Jack Ma Taobao overseas

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