Yahoo ready to cash in on Asian shareholdings

The internet giant Yahoo is in line for a huge windfall as it looked to sell most of its major Asian assets, said to be worth close to $17bn (£11bn).

It is thought Yahoo could net upwards of $10bn bycutting its stake in Chinese internet company Alibaba from 40 per cent to 15 per cent and selling all of its stake in Yahoo Japan to co-owner Softbank Corp. Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, has said several times he would be interested in buying out Yahoo.

Yahoo has struggled to keep up with Google and hascomeunder pressure from shareholders, including activist hedge fund manager Third Point, to deliver better value. The Asian deal is worth the equivalent of $14 per Yahoo share.