Internet firm Yahoo! is moving close to offloading stake in its Japanese business, Yahoo! Japan, ahead of the conclusion of its wider strategic review, possibly within weeks, a report said.
“Yahoo! moving closer to shedding its stake in Yahoo! Japan,” the Financial Times has reported. Its 35 per cent stake in the Japanese business, which has a market value of about $19 billion and net cash of $2 billion, is seen as an asset the company could dispose of relatively quickly, simplifying its strategic alternatives.
Various advisers are helping Yahoo consider its options including how the company could sell its Japanese stake.
“Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co are advising Yahoo! in considering its overall options. But other advisers, including UBS, are exploring how the company could sell its Japanese stake,” it noted.
A deal to divest the stake in Yahoo! Japan could facilitate a sale of the remainder of the business. Yahoo! is less likely to sell its Yahoo! Japan stake to US investors, it said.