Alibaba holds IPO kickoff meet

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will hold the kickoff meeting for its planned US IPO on March 25, sources familiar with the plans said on Tuesday.

The company will meet with the six main banks arranging the deal, as well as lawyers and other professionals working on the IPO.

Alibaba said on Sunday it decided to hold its long-awaited IPO in the US.

It is in discussions with Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Group, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley for lead underwriting roles.

The listing will be closely watched by Alibaba's two largest shareholders - Yahoo Inc, which owns 24 percent, and Japan's Softbank Corp, which controls 37 percent.

Alibaba's founders and some senior managers jointly own about 13 percent of the company.

Alibaba declined to comment on the IPO kickoff meeting.