Simpson takes lead role as Alibaba looks to list in US
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has scored the lead role on Alibaba's US IPO following a decision by the world's largest online e-commerce company not to list in Hong Kong. Hangzhou-based Alibaba, whose plans for a Hong Kong IPO emerged earlier this year, is now expected to list in New York, which would allow the company founders to retain control over board nominations.
September 26, 2013 at 11:37 PM
3 minute read
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has scored the lead role on Alibaba's US IPO following a decision by the world's largest online e-commerce company not to list in Hong Kong.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba, whose plans for a Hong Kong IPO emerged earlier this year, is now expected to list in New York, which would allow the company founders to retain control over board nominations.
Currently Hong Kong does not permit issuance of two classes of shares, which gives managers more voting rights than normal investors.
Alibaba's listing is the most hotly-anticipated since that of Facebook, which launched on Nasdaq in 2012 for a value of $16bn (£9.9bn), with reports suggesting the tech group could look to raise as much as $15bn.
Wall Street firm Simpson Thacher, which was originally appointed to advise the underwriting banks on the Hong Kong listing, has been retained as lead counsel for the issuer on the US IPO.
Partner Leiming Chen in Hong Kong, the firm's China practice leader and a senior capital markets partner, is overseeing the team on the deal, alongside Palo Alto-based corporate partner Bill Hinman, who advised the underwriters on the IPOs of Facebook and Google.
Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which has a strong capital markets practice in Asia led by Greater China head Teresa Ko, was originally acting for Alibaba on the Hong Kong IPO. It is now unclear whether the UK outfit will continue to have a role.
Alibaba is yet to appoint its underwriting banks or designate underwriters' counsel.
Both Simpson Thacher and Freshfields have previously represented Alibaba on more than one occasion.
This year, the magic circle firm advised the company on its $8bn (£5.1bn) debt refinancing, whilst Simpson Thacher acted for the business on its $586m (£378m) purchase of an 18% stake in Chinese social media company Weibo.
Its decision to abandon Hong Kong is being seen as a blow to the local IPO market, which has struggled to make a comeback since its 2011 highs.
Last year was one of the worst on record for Hong Kong IPOs, with the city's bourse dropping from world number one for three years running to fourth place, according to Dealogic.
Also planning an IPO in the coming months is Twitter, which has prepared a confidential filing.
US law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising the social networking site.
Related: Freshfields, Simpson Thacher line up for multibillion-dollar Alibaba IPO
Wilson Sonsini lands role on Twitter initial public offering
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