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Yahoo is in talks to offload its 35 per cent stake in Yahoo Japan, according to a media report.
“Yahoo is in talks to sell its 35 per cent stake in Yahoo Japan,” the Financial Times reported.
The negotiations are still in the formative stages, the report said citing sources. Nothing is imminent and the talks could go nowhere, it added.
The report said among the possibilities is a swap of assets, in which Yahoo would exchange its holdings in Yahoo Japan and give majority owner Softbank a stake in the US-based company.
However, Softbank, which holds a 41 per cent stake in Yahoo Japan, said there was “no truth” to media reports that it was negotiating to take Yahoo’s stake. The company, run by Masayoshi Son, the Japanese telecom entrepreneur, said it “does not intend to acquire shares” in Yahoo Japan.
The talks come as Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is under pressure to return cash or other assets to shareholders. Yahoo’s growth has ebbed as Internet audiences and advertisers turn to Facebook and other Web sites.
According to the publication, Tim Morse, Yahoo’s chief financial officer had told a Goldman Sachs investor conference last month: “We are in good discussions with Softbank.”
“We really don’t have a good way to offset taxes at all for a sale, so we are looking at tax-efficient options and...working with our partners to do so, and make sure it works for everybody, all the stakeholders concerned,” the report quoted Morse as saying.
The report said Yahoo declined to comment on stake sale news.
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