Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA): A Massive Deal In The Works? Leslie Picker

Is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA)’s first ever bond sale after debuting at the New York Stock Exchange to the tune of $25 billion a sign that a major deal for the company is coming? That’s what Leslie Picker wondered in a discussion with Emily Chang on Bloomberg West.

The observation comes after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) has been reported to be mulling selling $8 billion in bonds. According to BBC, the Chinese electronic commerce giant has tapped Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as market makers.

“However, you also have to wonder what they are going to do with all this cash. We’ve heard all about this discussion about what they are doing in Hollywood. We’ve heard a lot of talk about what they are going to do on the payments front. Is this bond deal any evidence that something could be coming soon?” said Picker.

In October, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) CEO Jack Ma was reported to be touring Holywood not just for vacation. According to The Wall Street Journal, he met with executives from Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s Universal Pictures, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA)’s Twentieth Century Fox, Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA)’s Paramount Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF).

The talks highlight the Chinese company’s interest in providing more content to the huge Chinese market. The duo also discussed how the company is diversifying its interests.

Most Valuable Brands In China

Furthermore, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) is said to be interested in cooperating with eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s PayPal Inc. as well as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for payments in China. Though Alibaba also has its own electronic payment system, adding payment methods is seen to strengthen its position as it looks to markets outside China.

In the report, Picker and Chang also discussed Alibaba buying eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) outright and not PayPal Inc. after its spinoff next year. Picker also noted in the report that the bond could just be a way for the Chinese company to get more favorable rates for debts it took on in the past when it privatized itself and reduced Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s stake in the company.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), one of the most valuable brands in China, made its record-breaking initial public offering, the biggest IPO in history, on September.