China-based e-commerce company, Alibaba has raised $21.8 billion through its initial public offering in the US. The company and shareholders including Yahoo! Inc. sold 320.1 million shares for $68 each, after offering a price of $66-$68 per share. The launch price for IPO values the company at $167.6 billion, which is the largest valuation for any company in the U.S. Besides, the company may offer additional shares to its underwriters. Alibaba’s stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the largest shareholder, Japan-based telecom company SoftBank Corporation did not sell its shares and continues to hold 32.4 stake in Alibaba post the IPO launch. Yahoo’s stake is expected to come down from 22.4 per cent to 16.3 per cent.

At $68 a share, Alibaba is valued at 29 times expected earnings for the year through March - below multiples fetched by Chinese and U.S. rivals including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Baidu Inc., and Amazon.com Inc.

Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. managed the public offering. Meanwhile, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP were legal advisers while Rothschild was the IPO adviser.