Alibaba raising $3B to buy back Yahoo stake
Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is reportedly seeking to raise a US$3 billion loan from six banks to buy back Yahoo's 40 percent stake in the company, a move following reports that Yahoo wants to sell off its Asian assets.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the six banks--Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Credit Suisse Group, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Holdings, and Mizuho Financial Group--are in the process of getting internal credit approval to underwrite the loan. The loan is expected to be finalized this month, sources familiar with the situation told WSJ Thursday.
Incidentally, the news comes as Alibaba.com's shares were suspended from trade in Hong Kong today, pending a statement to clarify speculation about a transaction involving its parent company, Alibaba Group, the report noted.
Alibaba Group runs Hong Kong-listed online trade platform Alibaba.com and China's largest online-shopping websites, Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.
Last month The New York Times reported that Yahoo was looking to sell off its Asian assets--which includes both its stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan--in a tax-free deal valued at US$17 billion.
The beleaguered American Web giant recently found itself a new CEO and had a board overhaul after non-executive chairman, Roy Bostock, and three other directors said they would not seek re-election. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang also resigned from the board earlier in January.