Alibaba's Online Shopping Division Eyes US IPO, Analysts Value Division At $29B-$39B

Alibaba Group Holding Limited's BABA international online shopping unit is exploring a U.S. initial public offering.
The business group is in talks with banks that could potentially help prepare for the IPO in 2024, Bloomberg reports citing knowledgeable sources.
The Alibaba unit includes major e-commerce brands Lazada and AliExpress.
It competes with rivals such as Amazon.com Inc AMZN in markets outside China and is one of six parts that Alibaba proposes to split into.
Morgan Stanley in March priced "international retail" units, including Lazada and Trendyol, at roughly $29 billion, while a CICC analyst valued the firm's international division at about $39 billion.
In 2023, Alibaba disclosed plans to break up its empire into units, including e-commerce, logistics, and the cloud, with each business potentially exploring fundraising and an IPO.
A U.S. listing could help the business formally Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, or IDCG, attract global investors wary of putting money directly into China.
The international unit accounted for 7% of Alibaba's revenue last fiscal year. Jiang Fan, the former president of Alibaba's domestic online retail businesses Taobao and Tmall, helms the division.
Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao Network Technology Co, and grocery chain Freshippo are preparing with banks for IPOs in Hong Kong.
Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 1.71% at $82.87 on the last check Thursday.