Alibaba Shakes Off Counterfeit Label Smoothing Path to U.S. IPO

Eighteen months ago, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. was under U.S. scrutiny because counterfeiters were selling goods on its website. Now it’s heading for what may be the nation’s biggest initial public offering since 2008.

Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace, which links individual buyers and sellers, cracked down on 87 million listings that may have breached intellectual-property rules on cigarettes, clothing and medicine as it tried to address concerns by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. It also teamed with brand owners and law enforcement officials to target peddlers offering knockoff items for sale.