Yahoo! is considering a complex plan to sell a large part of its Asian investments, valuing them at as much as USD 17 billion, people familiar with the proposal told the Financial Times. The proposal, to be discussed at a board meeting on 22 December, would potentially value the Asian stakes at more than the entire company was judged to be worth as recently as September, before CEO Carol Bartz was sacked and the company began a strategic review. Yahoo is in talks to sell most of its stakes in Yahoo! Japan and Alibaba, while talks over a separate proposal, which would involve private equity investors injecting cash into Yahoo and taking a leading role in reshaping the business, have been put on hold. That idea has been unpopular with some investors, according to the repot. They have argued that it would involve Yahoo selling a stake too cheaply while also acquiring an ally which would insulate its current directors against activist shareholders. Alibaba and Softbank, Yahoo's partners in Asia, offered in October to buy back the US company's 40 percent in Alibaba and 35 percent in Yahoo Japan. Recent discussions have centred on Yahoo retaining 15 percent of Alibaba to keep a stake in any future gains in China, while selling its remaining holdings, the paper said. The transactions would value the Yahoo Japan stake at USD 5 billion and the 40 percent interest in Alibaba at USD 12 billion, one person said, though another person said this exaggerated the price tag on the Chinese investment. The valuations are clouded by the complex structure being considered to allow Yahoo to shed the Asian stakes free of tax. Using so-called "cash-rich splits", Yahoo would swap its stakes for two new companies into which Alibaba and Softbank had injected cash and other assets.
