Five law firms have acted on Alibaba’s USD5 billion issue of USD and RMB-denominated senior unsecured notes in Hong Kong in the biggest corporate bond issue of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region this year.
The e-commerce giant issued three tranches of US dollar bonds totalling USD2.65 billion, with interest rates of 4.875%, 5.250% and 5.625%, maturing in 2030, 2035 and 2054, respectively. It also issued four tranches of offshore renminbi bonds totalling RMB17 billion (USD2.33 billion), with interest rates of 2.65%, 2.80%, 3.10% and 3.50%, due 2028, 2029, 2034 and 2044, respectively.
Simpson Thacher acted as Alibaba’s US legal counsel, with Hong Kong-based partners Daniel Fertig and Christopher Wong, as well as US-based partner Jonathan Cantor, among the team.
Maples Group’s corporate partners Richard Spooner and Karen Zhang Pallaras counselled the issuer on Cayman Islands law. Partners Jeffrey Ding and Brian Liu represented Fangda Partners to advise Alibaba on PRC law.
Sidley Austin’s partner Carrie Li acted as the underwriters’ US legal counsel, while Jingtian & Gongcheng counselled on PRC law.
In May this year, Alibaba raised USD5 billion in convertible senior notes in a private offering in New York.
