Yahoo not to sell assets in Yahoo Japan, Alibaba.com: CFO

Oct. 22, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Yahoo! Inc, a global leading search engine and information service provider, has no plans to sell its assets in Yahoo Japan Corp or China's Alibaba.com Ltd<1688>, a leading e-commerce provider in China, sources said, citing Yahoo CFO Tim Morse as saying.

Yahoo now has a 35% stake in Yahoo Japan and a 29% indirect stake in Alibaba.com, said Morse, adding that the stakes worth around US$10.3 billion based on the current market quotes, which shows a significant source of long-term value for Yahoo and a way to take part in the growth of the two Asian markets.

Last month, Yahoo sold its entire 1.14% stake or 57.48 million shares of Alibaba.com for about US$150 million. The shares were sold at prices between HK$19.8 and HK$20.3 apiece.

Yahoo was the second-largest shareholder of Alibaba.com, which runs China's leading B2B online marketplace, and still holds a 40% stake in Alibaba Group, the parent of the Hong Kong-listed company.

Shares of Alibaba.com edged down 0.6% and closed at HK$18.92 on Wednesday.