Yahoo has sold out of its investment in China's biggest e-commerce site, Alibaba.com, reaping $150 million for its 1.14% stake.
The move comes despite recent public comments from Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz who said last week, “Alibaba is a very good investment for the future. " Yahoo still holds a roughly 40% stake in the site’s parent, the Alibaba Group.
Yahoo invested about $100 million in Alibaba as part of an IPO which was completed in November 2007.
Yahoo said in a statement that it intended to hold on to its investment in the Alibaba Group, as it is an “important long-term way to participate in the China market.”
The Alibaba Group wholly owns China Yahoo, which it acquired in 2005.
The capital restructure also follows the Alibaba Group’s decision to restructure segments of China Yahoo. This includes the move of classified listings site Koubei.com to auction site Taobao.com from Yahoo China.
The decision sparked the mass resignation of 100 Beijing-based China Yahoo employees, who refused to transfer to another city as part of the deal.