Alibaba Issues $4.5 Billion of Convertible Debt to Fund Buybacks

(Bloomberg) — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. sold $4.5 billion worth of convertible bonds in one of the largest such offerings in recent years, as the company looks to buyback more shares and invest in its businesses.

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The Hangzhou-based company priced the seven-year notes, due 2031, with a coupon of 0.5% and a conversion premium of 30%. Orders for the bonds were multiple times oversubscribed, with demand from investors globally, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

The offering comes as Alibaba needs capital to invest in its core businesses of e-commerce and the cloud, both of which have bled market share during a crackdown on the sector by Chinese authorities and subsequent internal turmoil. Part of the proceeds from the offering will be used to repurchase 14.8 million of its American depositary shares at the time the deal is priced, as well as to fund future buybacks, it said in a statement.

“The move is an opportunity to obtain cash offshore on favorable terms, at a 0.5% rate,” said John Choi, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong Ltd. “This way they can start executing a share buyback right away, which the company can say is more beneficial to shareholders as the buyback will be more than the dilution.”

Alibaba is seeking to strike a balance between returning cash and investing in existing and new businesses, including in artificial intelligence, Chairman Joe Tsai and Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu said in a letter to shareholders on Thursday. It is also leading the way in cutting prices on cloud and artificial intelligence services, while also starting to ramp up bets in AI, a hotbed of global investment activity.

The firm approved an expansion of a share buyback program earlier this year, adding $25 billion in repurchases — one of the largest-ever in China.

The company marketed the convertible bonds at an annual coupon of 0.25% to 0.75%, and at a 30% to 35% conversion premium, according to terms of the deal reviewed by Bloomberg News earlier. The ADRs closed down 2.3% at $80.80 on Thursday. Shares were little changed in early Hong Kong trading on Friday.

The offering — which the company said included a so-called greenshoe option that may increase the deal size by $500 million — adds to an already busy month for convertible bond issuance. Globally, there have been $10.2 billion worth of such deals this month, dwarfing April’s $4 billion tally, after a pause for the earnings season interrupted a string of $10-billion plus months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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Rival Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc. earlier in the week sold $1.75 billion of convertible bonds due in five years.

What Bloomberg Intelligence says:

Alibaba’s convertible bonds offering may increase scrutiny of changes to its plans for a primary listing in Hong Kong by the end of August and the timeline for achieving a double-digit return on invested capital. The company’s intention to use the bonds’ proceeds for share purchases was more targeted than JD.com’s. — analysts Catherine Lim and Trini Tan.

The offering is expected to close on May 29, the company said. Holders of the convertible bonds can ask Alibaba to buyback all or part of their notes on June 1, 2029.

Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Barclays Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc helped arrange the deal, according to terms seen earlier by Bloomberg News.

–With assistance from Shikhar Balwani, Amy Or, Michael Hytha and David Morris.

(Changes source, updates throughout.)

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