Alibaba Seeks to Raise $4.5 Billion in Convertible Bond Offering

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is seeking to raise $4.5 billion from a convertible bond sale, following a $1.75 billion offering by rival Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc. this week.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba plans to use the proceeds to fund stock buybacks, it said in a statement Thursday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The offering includes a so-called greenshoe option that could increase the size of the deal by $500 million.

American depositary shares of Alibaba fell as much as 2.3% on Thursday morning. They were down 1.2% at 10:08 a.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of ...