Chinese online sales firm Alibaba, known as "the Chinese Amazon," set the record for largest initial public offering last week, priced to be the largest public offering of all-time at $21.8 billion, dwarfing Facebook’s $16 billion IPO in 2012 and Visa’s $17.9 billion IPO in 2008. Alibaba's initial offering price per share was $68, compared with the previous top record holder Visa, which had an initial offering price of $44. 

Here are the 10 largest U.S. IPOs, according to investment advisor Renaissance Capital LLC  (www.renaissancecapital.com).

10. Telstra Corporation

Offer Date: November 17, 1997

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Communications

Underwriter: Credit Suisse

Deal Size: $5,646,000.00

Initial offering price: $17

Telstra Corporation Limited is Australia's largest telecommunications and media company which builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other entertainment products and services.

9. France Télécom

Offer Date: October 17, 1997

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Communications

Underwriter: Merrill Lynch

Deal Size: $7,289,000.00

8. Kraft Foods 

Offer Date: June 12, 2001

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Consumer

Underwriter: Credit Suisse

Deal Size: $8,680,000.00

Initial offering price: $31

Kraft completed its initial public offering in June of 2001, selling $8.7 billion worth of shares. At the time it was the second largest IPO in U.S. history.

7. AT&T Wireless Group

Offer Date: April 26, 2000

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Communications

Underwriter: Goldman Sachs

Deal Size: $10,620,000.00

Initial offering price: $29.50

The massive size of AT&T Wireless' offering, issued as a tracking stock by AT&T, ultimately drew less interest than normal from institutional investors, some of whom believed the abundance of shares muted any potential for extraordinary gains.

6. Deutsche Telekom

Offer Date: November 17, 1996

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Communications

Underwriter: Goldman Sachs

Deal Size: $13,034,000.00

5. General Motors

Offer Date: November 17, 2010

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Capital Goods and Services

Underwriter: Morgan Stanley

Deal Size: $15,774,000.00

Initial offering price: $33

General Motors pulled off the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history at the time, raising $20.1 billion after pricing shares at the top of the proposed range in response to huge investor demand.

Image Source: Marco Paköeningrat

4. Facebook

Offer Date: May 17, 2012

Exchange: NASDAQ

Industry: Technology

Underwriter: Morgan Stanley

Deal Size: $16,007,000.00

Initial offering price: $38

Facebook Inc. priced its shares at $38 apiece for an initial public offering that would make it the most valuable U.S. company at the time of its stock market debut. 

3. Enel SpA  

Offer Date: November 1, 1999

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Utilities

Underwriter: Merrill Lynch

Deal Size: $16,452,000.00

Image Source: MoneyBlogNewz

2. Visa

Offer Date: March 18, 2008

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Financial

Underwriter: JP Morgan

Deal Size: $17,864,000.00

Initial offering price: $44

 
Visa Inc. ignored the bear market on Wall Street and carried out the biggest-ever U.S. initial public offering in style, with its shares surging 28 percent in its first day of trading. 

And of course...Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce firm with $296 billion in gross merchandise volume.

1. Alibaba Group Holding

 Offer Date: September 18, 2014

Exchange: NYSE

Industry: Technology

Underwriter: Credit Suisse

Deal Size: $21,767,000.00

 Initial offering price: $68 

Alibaba is China’s — and by some measures, the world’s — biggest online commerce company. Its three main sites — Taobao, Tmall and Alibaba.com — have hundreds of millions of users, and host millions of merchants and businesses. Alibaba handles more business than any other e-commerce company.

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