Yahoo-Alibaba Rift?
In another sign of the concern over the apparent lack of transparency surrounding the financial and operations reporting of Chinese companies, even those whose shares trade on U.S. public stock exchanges, today’s Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) reports news of a dispute between Yahoo (ticker symbol YHOO) and Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding, of which it holds a 40% stake.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Friday disputed claims by its largest shareholder, Yahoo Inc., that the company had transferred ownership of its online payment unit, Alipay, to a separate entity without knowledge or approval of its board or shareholders. Alibaba’s statement appears to conflict with a statement from Yahoo on Thursday which said it was notified on March 31 of an ownership transfer that had been completed in August last year.
Citi analyst Mark Mahaney comments, ”At some level, this raises the overall risk profile for Internet/Media/Technology companies operating in China.”. “The acute lack of clarity around the Alipay issue is calling into question the value and monetization potential of Yahoo!’s Chinese assets” wrote Jefferies analyst Youssef Squali.
Yahoo’s stock is currently one of the more active stocks in trading today on the announcement, trading at $16.00, down nearly 7% from its close yesterday.
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