Alibaba Group's initial public offering was a success by any measure. At $25 billion, it was the largest in history. Investors were so eager to add the Chinese e-commerce giant to their portfolios that the shares soared 38 percent on their debut, the biggest first-day jump for an IPO of at least $10 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. When trading ended on Sept. 19, the company had a market value of $231 billion, more than Amazon .com's and EBay's combined. Some investors warned that the clamor for Alibaba shares could trigger a broad market decline, as the new stock drew money from existing equities. In an article published before the IPO, Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz, predicted that most investors would sell other stock to buy the shares rather than borrow money or use idle cash. "This leaves plenty of potential for downward market pressure as investors sell existing holdings in order to make room for their Alibaba purchases," wrote El-Erian.
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