US internet giant Yahoo! is seeking to sell up to $150 million worth of shares in Alibaba.Com, Dow Jones Newswires reported today.
Yahoo! is selling its direct stake in Alibaba.Com, of 57.48 million shares acquired at its initial public offering, the Dow Jones Newswires said, citing a term sheet it had seen.
The stake amounted to about one per cent of shares in the Hong Kong-listed e-commerce firm.
Dow Jones Newswires said Yahoo! will sell the shares for 19.80-20.30 Hong Kong dollars ($2.54-2.60) each, representing a discount of 4.0 to 6.4 per cent on Alibaba.Com's closing price of 21.15 Hong Kong dollars today.
Even after the discount, Yahoo! will make a respectable profit of at least 47 per cent on the IPO price of 13.50 Hong Kong dollars less than two years ago, Dow Jones Newswires said.
John Spelich, Hong Kong-based vice president for international corporate affairs at Alibaba Group, the parent company of Alibaba.Com, said they welcomed the share sale.
"We are pleased to learn of the Yahoo! decision because having broader ownership of Alibaba.Com with increased liquidity and support among institutional investors is what Alibaba.Com hoped to achieve," he said in a statement sent to AFP.
