Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding is headed for its initial public offering. It posted its earnings report for the recently ended quarter, which was a way to give a valuation, unlike the way Facebook, Inc when it had its IPO.
Revenue surged by 60% during its second quarter to end at $1.73 billion, according to its presentation released by Yahoo on Tuesday. Yahoo! Inc has ownership in Alibaba.
Net income that was attributable to shareholders doubled to over $707 million from last year’s $273 million.
The company, based in Hangzhou, China provides a marketplace online for businesses and consumers to buy and sell nearly anything from Boeing 737s aircraft to habanera hot peppers.
Alibaba is currently considering a listing in the U.S. after its talks with the stock exchange in Hong Kong fell apart. The company was valued by investment banks at $120 billion, compared to a $104 billion valuation for Facebook after it debuted in the market.
Yahoo, which has a stake of close to 24% in the e-commerce operator, announced on Tuesday the maximum amount of shares it required to sell in the IPO for Alibaba fell from 261.5 million to 208 million.
Jack Ma, formed Alibaba with partners in 1999. It was originally set up to be a marketplace for just companies in China. However, it has grown as the economic liberalization wave has spurred a boom in trade and manufacturing.
Ma formally taught English. He now has a stake of 7.4% in Alibaba and is estimated to be worth over $3.5 billion.
Alibaba does not sell any merchandise itself, but rather runs the different platforms that connect the consumers and retail brands.
