Yahoo scraps Alibaba spinoff amid investor pressure
- 8 years ago
Yahoo Inc. scrapped its long-planned spinoff of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. amid mounting pressure from investors concerned about the tax risks of the deal.
Instead, the Web portal will package all of its other assets into a new publicly traded company, Yahoo said in a statement Wednesday.
The backflip is a defeat for Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who was brought aboard in 2012 to revitalize the once-dominant Internet brand that has struggled to find a strategy to return the company to growth.
Yahoo's board convened last week to consider options for the company's future, including whether to press ahead with the Alibaba divestiture after questions arose about whether the transaction would be tax-free, or selling off the company's core assets.
Even as Yahoo capitulated to concerns about the tax implications of Alibaba, the company believes the previously announced plan would have been tax free for shareholders, Chairman Maynard Webb said in a statement.
Instead, the Web portal will package all of its other assets into a new publicly traded company, Yahoo said in a statement Wednesday.
The backflip is a defeat for Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who was brought aboard in 2012 to revitalize the once-dominant Internet brand that has struggled to find a strategy to return the company to growth.
Yahoo's board convened last week to consider options for the company's future, including whether to press ahead with the Alibaba divestiture after questions arose about whether the transaction would be tax-free, or selling off the company's core assets.
Even as Yahoo capitulated to concerns about the tax implications of Alibaba, the company believes the previously announced plan would have been tax free for shareholders, Chairman Maynard Webb said in a statement.