The company could raise about $1 billion in an offering that would value the Chinese Internet company at up to $250 billion.

Chinese Internet behemoth Alibaba on Tuesday filed for a $1 billion initial public offering and will trade either on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ under a symbol to be determined later.

The numbers can change, but once the company goes public it could be valued at from $170 billion-$250 billion, analysts estimate, and Yahoo will will profit handsomely from the IPO given that it owns 24 percent.

Alibaba was founded in 1999 by a former English teacher, and it now accounts for as much as 80 percent of all e-commerce in China.

According to filings, Alibaba's revenue was $6.5 billion in the nine months ended Dec. 31 and its net income was $2.9 billion for that period.

Credit Suisse is the lead underwriter of what could be the biggest IPO in history.