Now it’s official: Yahoo is not going to sell off its stake in Alibaba, because it is spooked about taxes.
Reverse! Reverse! Yahoo Will Spin Off Yahoo, Not Its Alibaba Stake.
Different direction, same result?
Peter Kafka covered media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.
Instead, Yahoo is going to sell off everything else. Or in the words of the company’s press release this morning, it is going to work on a “reverse of the previously announced spin transaction,” and create a new, publicly traded company that contains everything except its Alibaba shares.
That deal could take up to a year, Yahoo says. And while it doesn’t say the next part, you can figure it out for yourself: That means Yahoo’s plan to spin off Yahoo will also be a plan to sell off Yahoo.
Here’s Marissa Mayer’s version of a “For Sale” sign: “A separation from our Alibaba stake, via the reverse spin, will provide more transparency into the value of Yahoo’s business.”
Step right this way for your tour of the property, Verizon. You too, private investors.
One person who won’t be participating in the open house: Max Levchin, who is resigning from the Yahoo board and won’t be replaced.
Just in case you think the PayPal co-founder had some sort of disagreement with Mayer or his former board members, Yahoo wants you to know that this is totally not the case: “Mr. Levchin is resigning due to his other professional commitments and demands on his time, and not due to any disagreement with Yahoo on any matter related to Yahoo’s operations, policies or practices.” Got it!
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
