China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group is aiming to raise $5 billion (€4.74 billion) in multi-tranche dollar and offshore Chinese yuan bonds, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The company confirmed plans for bond fundraising in a regulatory filing on Monday but said the size, interest rate and maturity would be determined as the transaction progressed.
It would be the largest corporate bond deal in the Asia Pacific so far this year, according to LSEG data.
Alibaba last tapped the dollar bond market in 2021, the data showed.
Prospective Investors
The current dollar tranche would consist of a 5.5-year, 10.5-year and 30-year dollar bond, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed.
Alibaba is also working on a 3.5-year, 5-year, 10-year and 20-year offshore yuan tranche, according to the term sheet.
Prospective investors have been told by banks working on the deal that the company is aiming to raise $5 billion, according to the sources.
Corporate Purposes
The sources declined to be identified by name because the information is confidential.
Alibaba said in the filing it would use the cash raised for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment and funding share repurchases.
Last week, it was reported the group missed analysts' estimates for quarterly sales, as lingering economic uncertainty sapped consumer spending in China and weighed on the e-commerce giant's domestic business.
Chinese consumers have sharply cut back on spending, especially on discretionary items, as the world's second largest economy struggles to pick up pace amid a property sector crisis and heightened youth job insecurity.
Additional reporting by ESM
