China's 360buy.com Plans IPO That Could Total $5 Billion

The China based online retailing giant 360buy.com, also called Jingdong Mall, reportedly plans to raise between $4 billion and $5 billion in what would be by far the largest ever Internet IPO in the United States, according to the Thomson Reuters site International Financing Review.

The IPO is planned for the second half of 2012. The story says that the company will hold a "beauty parade" next week in Beijing to choose underwriters for the deal.

The story notes that Google's $1.67 billion IPO in 2004 is the largest ever Internet stock offering in the U.S.

The company raised $1.5 billion in a private financing in April that valued the company at about $10 billion.