In one of the most hotly anticipated IPOs of all time, Alibaba Group did not disappoint. The China e-commerce giant priced 320.1 million shares at 68, the high end of its upwardly revised range. The initial public offering raised $21.8 billion, making it the largest-ever U.S. IPO and giving it a market valuation of $168 billion — above Amazon (AMZN) but below Google and Facebook. Alibaba stock will begin trading on the NYSE Friday
Amazon.com (AMZN) unexpectedly launched a batch of new and upgraded Kindle models late Wednesday. The products, which were announced via press release without the usual press-conference fanfare, include a new ultrathin flagship $199 Kindle Voyage e-reader and a special Fire HD tablet for kids. Amazon also rolled out a 6-inch $99 Fire HD, its cheapest and smallest Fire tablet yet, and the Fire OS 4 “Sangria,” a next-generation operating system for
Pandora Media, the No. 1 online radio service, isn’t humming. The stock has stagnated, though it did jump 6% Tuesday on buyout rumors that already have cooled. A buyer would get a company whose listeners and listener hours have slipped amid competition from heavyweights Apple (AAPL), with its iTunes and Beats Music; Amazon.com (AMZN) and its Prime Music; and Google (GOOGL), with its Google Play Music and Songza. Pandora’s (P) active listeners fell