Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba said on Thursday it plans to raise $3.2 billion through the sale of a zero-coupon convertible bond to fund international expansion and strengthen cloud computing, reports Reuters. The bond will be the largest of its kind this year, showed Dealogic data, eclipsing DoorDash’s $2.75 billion deal in May.
Alibaba said it would use nearly 80% of the proceeds to expand data centres, upgrade technology and improve services to meet demand for cloud solutions. It will invest the remainder in enhancing market presence and efficiency in e-commerce ventures.
Alibaba will offer the bond with a 27.5% to 32.5% conversion premium above its US-listed share price, showed a term sheet seen by Reuters. The bond will mature on September 15, 2032, and convert into US-listed shares.