International law firms advising Alibaba IPO in Hong Kong

IPO is a welcome development.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have taken on key advisory roles in the Hong Kong initial public offering of Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company.

The listing is billed as the biggest IPO since Facebook. It could value Alibaba by as much as US$100 billion. Other estimates, however, have pegged the value at between US$60 billion and US$70 billion.

Alibaba is estimated to have a valuation between US$55 billion to over US$120 billion. In 2012, two of Alibaba’s portals together handled US$170 billion in sales, more than competitors eBay and Amazon combined.

Freshfields advises Alibaba while Simpson Thacher represents the underwriting banks. Alibaba has not yet formally named the banks on the deal, but Credit Suisse is expected to take a lead role on the IPO, which could take place by the end of this year.

A potential IPO in Hong Kong would be a welcome development for Asia's financial capital, which last year saw a significant drop in the volume and value of listings. Hong Kong reported 64 new IPOs valued at HK$89.8 billion in 2012, down from 101 priced at a total of HK$271.4 billion in 2011.