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Goldman, BofA Left Off Ant IPO for Work With Alibaba Rivals

  • Banks told to avoid dealing with competitors to win deals
  • The U.S. banks managed $7.7 billion in deals for PDD, JD.com
The loading page for Ant Group's Alipay application.

The loading page for Ant Group's Alipay application.

Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. were left off Ant Group’s upcoming stock sale in Hong Kong because of their past work with rivals of its affiliate Alibaba, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bankers have been told by senior executives at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which owns a third of Ant, that they should refrain from doing deals for its competitors if they want business from Jack Ma’s sprawling empire, the people said. Ant has kicked off plans to go public in Hong Kong and Shanghai in offerings that could top Saudi Aramco’s record $29 billion IPO.