HONG KONG-The Chinese Internet company Alibaba has ended talks with the Hong Kong stock exchange over an initial public offering and is now moving forward with plans to list in New York, a person close to the Chinese company said on Wednesday.
Alibaba’s ‘‘dialog with Hong Kong’’ has ‘‘come to the end,’’ said the person close to the company, declining to be named because the information is not public. The company is ‘‘now turning to the U.S. to start the listing process,’’ the person said.
Alibaba has yet to appoint underwriters for an I.P.O. or submit filings to sell shares in any market.
In its discussions over a potential listing â€" which, at as much as $15 billion, would be a huge win for any stock exchange â€" Alibaba had proposed to officials in Hong Kong that the company’s 28-member partner committee be allowed to continue to nominate a majority of its board of directors.
Hong Kong discourages dual-class shareholding or other structures that organize control over companies in a way that is disproportionate to individual shareholdings.
Hong Kong appears to have declined to make an exception in Alibaba’s case. A spokesman for the Hong Kong exchange declined to comment on Wednesday, citing company policy.
Dual-class and related share structures are permitted in the United States. Google, Facebook and the New York Times Company have dual-class listings, which give founders or family owners greater say over how a company is run.
Still, Alibaba does not intend to seek a dual-class listing. The company is ‘‘not going to come to the U.S. with dual-class’’ but is ‘‘going to come looking for a way’’ to use its existing partnership model, the person close to the company said.
Alibaba was founded in 1999 and its partner committee structure was introduced in 2010. Its 28 members include Jack Ma, the executive chairman, as well as Mr. Ma’s co-founders, top lieutenants and other long-serving senior staff members.
The partners own about 10 percent of the company, and the committee does not include SoftBank, the Japanese telecommunications company that owns 36.7 percent of Alibaba, or Yahoo, which has a 24 percent stake.
‘‘What sets our partnership apart from the others is that this is not a mere profit sharing mechanism, nor is it a vehicle of power to exert greater control over the company: rather, it is a system that provides a driving force within the company,’’ Mr. Ma wrote this month in a letter to Alibaba employees. ‘‘Partners, as operators of the company, builder of business, carriers of corporate culture, as well as shareholders, are the most likely to adhere to the company’s mission and insist on long-term interests to create long-term value for customers, employees and shareholders.’’
Analysts and investors expect Alibaba’s listing â€" if, when and where it happens â€" to be one of the biggest and most highly anticipated since Facebook raised $16 billion in May 2012.
Alibaba operates online businesses including the merchandise sourcing Web site Alibaba.com; Tmall.com, a platform for retailers to connect with online shoppers; and the consumer-to-consumer retail Web site Taobao Marketplace.
Alibaba’s profit tripled in the first quarter of the year, rising to $668.7 million from $220.5 million in the same period a year earlier, according to Yahoo’s stock exchange filings. Quarterly revenue increased to $1.38 billion, up 72 percent from a year earlier.
