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Alibaba Prices $3.2 Billion Zero‑Coupon Convertibles at 31% Premium

Strong orders at a hefty conversion premium signal intensifying competition to finance AI and cloud infrastructure.

Overview

  • Alibaba sold zero‑coupon convertible senior notes due Sept. 15, 2032 in a private offering to non‑US investors, with exchanges into its US‑listed ADRs and settlement in shares, cash, or both.
  • Roughly 80% of proceeds are earmarked for cloud infrastructure expansion, with about 20% directed to international e‑commerce operations.
  • Investor demand was several times the offering size, and the deal is the year’s largest convertible‑note issuance, according to terms and a company statement.
  • The banks on the transaction include Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Mizuho.
  • Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares closed up 0.4% after earlier declines, and its ADRs traded higher pre‑market, as peers such as Baidu raised funds and Tencent weighed new bond sales.