Yahoo Sells Stakes in Alibaba.com
September 14, 2009 by Mark Ellis
Filed under Business
Following the near quadrupling in value of Alibaba.com Ltd., the operator of China’s largest trading website, Yahoo! Inc. has decided to sell its shares in the company for an estimated $151 million. However, Yahoo remains the biggest stakeholder in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the parent of the Hong Kong-based website.
Yahoo has a relatively long history with Alibaba, investing $1 billion and swapping around its Chinese operations for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba Group. In 2007, Yahoo was one of eight investors to provide $1.7 billion as part of Alibaba’s initial public offering, the largest first-time share sale by an Internet company since Google’s three years prior.
Analysts see Yahoo’s decision to sell the stock as bad news for the stock in general, especially following Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma’s decision to sell recently as well. Yahoo had considered its investment in Alibaba.com to be a long-term investment, raising some questions about Yahoo and its perception of Alibaba.com if it had to sell the stock.
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