Alibaba Group recorded the largest initial public offering in history before Saudi Aramco surpassed it in 2019.
Alibaba’s New York Stock Exchange IPO took place on September 19, 2014, and raised about $25 billion after underwriters exercised an overallotment option. The offering gave the Chinese e-commerce group an enormous public-company valuation and made it one of the world’s most valuable listed businesses.
Alibaba operates major commerce platforms including Taobao and Tmall, alongside cloud computing, logistics, digital media, and other services. Its public listing made its market value easier to compare with global technology companies.
Saudi Aramco’s 2019 offering raised more and therefore replaced Alibaba as the record holder. The two figures are often confused because both IPOs were associated with valuations near or above $200 billion.