4 ms·

I wonder if it makes any sense for Alibaba to buy Yahoo. Primarily buying back the shares but could also refocus yahoo more around ecommerce.

by robryan 11y ago

danjayh 11y ago
Even though Alibaba is Chinese owned, and based in a country whose attitude toward free speech is not something I'd like to spread, somehow I'm more comfortable with them as a suitor for Yahoo than I am with Comcast or Verizon (shudder).
- vonklaus 11y ago
  I don't have time to find the source right now but there was speculation that a structure could be found that achieves this. While I may not capture the exact method, it was essentially something like: * Yahoo would sell the core "Yahoo" piece or businesses components leaving the new Yahoo as just a shell company with just BABA holdings. Essentially, they decouple it entirely. * Yahoo's components would be sold and then BABA would almost certainly purchase all of the Yahoo stock, which would just be, in reality, a stock buy back from their standpoint. * The actual Yahoo components would go to whoever bought them, but likely not to BABA. Not sure how this plays, but it doesn't seem like anyone smart realizes Yahoo core is valuable, or at least has not been publicly announced as a suitor. It does not seem feasible to recap the company in reverse, selling BABA and betting on itself, although I think that is the move personally. The result currently appears that BABA does a stock rebuy and Yahoo disappears entirely. The employees acquihired slowly look for better jobs over the next year as they work with the acquirer to destroy yahoo by integrateding it into whatever piece of shit idea some executive has.
supster 11y ago
Yahoo is only selling the non-Alibaba core businesses (e.g. Yahoo Finance).
nikdaheratik 11y ago
The issues with all of that Merger/Acquisition stuff are basically tax problems. Anything that locks in the share price of their stake in BABA means they need to pay taxes. The spinoff company didn't get IRS approval, so their only option to avoid as much as they can of that is to peel off the non-BABA parts of the company and then there might be some kind of share deal that could get approval. Basically, cash for any of the BABA shares means they take a big tax hit. Share deals could maybe avoid this (which is what the "activist" investors are pushing for) but would need regulatory approval and likely to sell or close down the rest of the company.

I wonder if it makes any sense for Alibaba to buy Yahoo. Primarily buying back the shares but could also refocus yahoo more around ecommerce.

by robryan 11y ago

I wonder if it makes any sense for Alibaba to buy Yahoo. Primarily buying back the shares but could also refocus yahoo more around ecommerce.

danjayh 11y ago

Even though Alibaba is Chinese owned, and based in a country whose attitude toward free speech is not something I'd like to spread, somehow I'm more comfortable with them as a suitor for Yahoo than I am with Comcast or Verizon (shudder).

vonklaus 11y ago
I don't have time to find the source right now but there was speculation that a structure could be found that achieves this. While I may not capture the exact method, it was essentially something like: * Yahoo would sell the core "Yahoo" piece or businesses components leaving the new Yahoo as just a shell company with just BABA holdings. Essentially, they decouple it entirely. * Yahoo's components would be sold and then BABA would almost certainly purchase all of the Yahoo stock, which would just be, in reality, a stock buy back from their standpoint. * The actual Yahoo components would go to whoever bought them, but likely not to BABA. Not sure how this plays, but it doesn't seem like anyone smart realizes Yahoo core is valuable, or at least has not been publicly announced as a suitor. It does not seem feasible to recap the company in reverse, selling BABA and betting on itself, although I think that is the move personally. The result currently appears that BABA does a stock rebuy and Yahoo disappears entirely. The employees acquihired slowly look for better jobs over the next year as they work with the acquirer to destroy yahoo by integrateding it into whatever piece of shit idea some executive has.

supster 11y ago

Yahoo is only selling the non-Alibaba core businesses (e.g. Yahoo Finance).

nikdaheratik 11y ago

The issues with all of that Merger/Acquisition stuff are basically tax problems. Anything that locks in the share price of their stake in BABA means they need to pay taxes. The spinoff company didn't get IRS approval, so their only option to avoid as much as they can of that is to peel off the non-BABA parts of the company and then there might be some kind of share deal that could get approval. Basically, cash for any of the BABA shares means they take a big tax hit. Share deals could maybe avoid this (which is what the "activist" investors are pushing for) but would need regulatory approval and likely to sell or close down the rest of the company.