JD.com IPO Price, Valuation Revealed: China's Second Largest E-Commerce Company Joins Nasdaq
China's second largest e-commerce company next to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., JD.com, said in an announcement that it is expecting to price its initial public offering of each of its 93.7 million American depositary shares at $16 to $18 with a total valuation of up to $24.6 billion. Earlier this week, Alibaba showed investors and the public how the Chinese e-commerce industry has grown to be as massive as it is and it took the first step in what is possibly the largest debut in tech history.
Despite trailing behind Alibaba, which has control of almost 80 percent of China's online shopping market, JD.com has raised $2.23 billion over the past six years from several investors, including the billionaire Saudi prince, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. JD.com, which was previously known as 360Buy, is like other Chinese companies listed in the United States; they rely on a legal structure called a variable interest entity wherein investors are given economic interest but without ownership. When it filed for IPO on Jan. 30, 2014 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, JD.com did not disclose information relating to its price range and ticker symbol.
While the average tech consumer in the United States is still unfamiliar with the Chinese e-commerce industry, JD.com together with Alibaba is now providing a closer look at their operations and activities worldwide. Despite not being as big as Alibaba, who is expected to make history with its IPO, JD.com is still relatively sizeable with its offerings and expected price range. The company's depository shares will be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol D. The rest will be offered by stockholders. Lead underwriters to the offering include Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, and UBS Securities.
Further details are expected to be disclosed in the days leading up to the initial public offering.
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