Alibaba To Delay IPO Until September According To NYT

Alibaba Group Inc.

plans to delay until September its much-awaited initial public offering, according to the New York Times. The Chinese e-commerce concern had been widely expected to launch the offering Aug, 8, in part because eight is viewed as a lucky number in China. Analysts had expected Alibaba's road show to get rolling later this month. But that would require approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission by next week, the Times said. Citing unnamed sources, the Times reported that the offering will launch some time after Labor Day. The plan will avoid launching the offer during the unofficial late-summer slowdown, the Times said. The offer could raise $20 billion and be the largest IPO in history. Big selling include Japan's Softbank Corp, which owns a 34 percent stake, Yahoo Inc,

, with a 22 percent stake, and Alibaba founder Jack Yun, who owns 8.9 percent stake.