Altaba, the company that emerged from what was let after Yahoo had sold most of its internet business to Verizon, announced Tuesday that it plans to sell up to 50% of the Alibaba shares it holds.
The investment company, whose assets consist primarily in substantial position in Alibaba, added that it also plans to sell its remaining shares after stockholder approval.
Altaba, which holds ordinary shares and American Depositary Shares (ADS) of Alibaba, did not disclose its position in Alibaba in this announcement.
However, Alibaba’s ownership summary on the Nasdaq website shows that in the past three months, Altaba was not among the top five institutional investors of the company’s ADSs.
The announcement leaves Alibaba cold.
“Stocks are for trading. Any shareholder has the right to deal stock anytime on the market, for any purpose. We’re happy to have had Yahoo invest in Alibaba in the past and to see it now collecting a strong return on its investment,” an Alibaba spokesman told KrAsia on Wednesday.
Altaba said it “intends to sell its Alibaba Shares through open market transactions and/or through private dispositions”.
Editor: Nadine Freischlad
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com