Investors rush to buy up Alibaba bonds

Investor orders for Alibaba’s $7bn bond sale on Wednesday reached $41bn, according to two people familiar with the sale. The company was poised to raise the capital across five maturities ranging from 5.5 to 40 years, with $700m of new 5.5 year notes set to yield 73 basis points above benchmark Treasuries and the new 10-year bonds set to yield 108 basis points above similarly maturing US government bonds. Alibaba was also set to raise new 20-year debt with a spread of 118 basis points, 30-year bonds with a spread of 138 basis points, and 40-year paper with a spread of 158 basis points, according to a pricing sheet seen by the Financial Times. The strong investor demand allowed bankers underwriting the transaction  – led by Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan – to tighten the terms on the deal.