Which company's 2014 IPO was the largest in history at the time?

Alibaba Group's 2014 IPO was the largest in history at the time.

The offering took place on the New York Stock Exchange on September 19, 2014. Alibaba initially priced its shares at $68, raising about $21.8 billion, and an overallotment option later increased the deal's total value to approximately $25 billion. That record placed Alibaba ahead of earlier mega-IPOs, including Agricultural Bank of China's 2010 listing.

Alibaba was founded in Hangzhou in 1999 by Jack Ma and began as a business-to-business online marketplace. By 2014, its ecosystem included Taobao, Tmall, Alipay-related services, logistics, and cloud computing, giving investors exposure to China's rapidly expanding consumer internet market.

A common mix-up is confusing the largest IPO with the largest company debut by market value. Alibaba's shares opened at $92.70, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $231 billion. The record also refers to the amount raised, not to later stock performance or the company's current value.