Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Yahoo sets Alibaba stake spinoff plan, shares jump

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc (O:YHOO) plans to spin off its 15 percent stake in China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (N:BABA), responding to pressure to hand over to shareholders its prized e-commerce investment valued at roughly $40 billion.
Shares of Yahoo were up roughly 7 percent at $51.45 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, following the tax-free spin off announcement and earnings which just beat analysts forecasts even as its revenues slightly lagged estimates.
Shareholders feel that Yahoo and its stake in Alibaba would be worth more separately, so long as the Alibaba shares are not subject to the standard 35 percent tax rate that would be incurred from selling the shares.
"It's the best possible outcome," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis. "The main point is that the money goes to shareholders, it doesn't get spent on acquisitions. They don't want to fritter it away."
Yahoo's market value is about $45 billion, while its Alibaba stake alone is worth nearly $40 billion, meaning the current Yahoo share price assigns little value to the core business. Some investors believe the email, Web site and other operations are worth between $7 billion and $8 billion.
Read more Click here / www.trade4x.net

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