16 Sep 2010 11:34

Yahoo rejects Alibaba's share buy-back offer

Shanghai. September 16. INTERFAX-CHINA - Yahoo! Inc. has rejected Alibaba's offer to buy back part of Yahoo's stake in the e-commerce giant, Alibaba said in a statement on Sept. 16.

Alibaba spokesman John Spelich said in the statement that "Yahoo countered with a very different proposal, which we found unacceptable."

The statement was made in response to a report on Sept. 15 quoting Yahoo's Chief Executive Carol Bartz as saying that the company is not interested in selling its stake in Alibaba.

Bartz is scheduled to join Alibaba's board later this year as part of the partnership agreement the companies signed in 2005, according to a Thomson Reuters report.

On Sept. 13 Alibaba's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Wei criticized Yahoo for adding little technological value, referring to it as a mere financial investor, Interfax previously reported.

Relations between the two companies deteriorated since earlier this year when Yahoo sided with Google Inc. in its dispute with China over hacking allegations, according to state media reports.

In 2005, Yahoo bought an approximate 40 percent stake in Alibaba for a $1 billion cash consideration and its China unit, Yahoo China.

-YXY