Banks eyeing Alibaba IPO skip some US$100m of business
They avoid working for the firm's rivals, acquisition targets
[HONG KONG] Every big bank in town wanted a piece of the Alibaba Group initial public offering, set to be the biggest technology listing ever. So much so that, according to Thomson Reuters data, major banks skipped an estimated US$100 million in combined fees that they could have made from work for other clients over the past year.
People familiar with the matter say that's because the banks didn't want to irk the Chinese e-commerce giant by working for its rivals or acquisition targets, and risk losing out on business in an IPO expected to be bigger than Facebook's US$16 billion listing in 2012.
Alibaba's giant IPO comes amid a wave of deals in China's tech sector, putting banks in a tricky situation when it comes to backing clients in the industry. In a sector that's red-hot, companies are sensitive about letting advisers work on deals that run parallel to those of competitors for fear of confidential information leaking out.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
New Articles
HDB resale prices accelerate, rising 1.8% in Q1 on stronger demand
Digital Core Reit Q1 distributable income slips 2.4% to US$10.6 million
BT subscribers can now share 5 premium articles a month with unlimited number of non-subscribers
First Reit reports 3.2% lower Q1 DPU of S$0.006 amid interest rate, forex headwinds
Vietnam holds first gold auction in 11 years to stabilise market
How Hudson Yards went from ghost town to office success story