Yahoo! Inc. Clears Hurdle, Sells Alibaba Stake For $7.1 Billion; Increases Stock Buyback Authorization By $5 Billion To $5.5 Billion -Reuters

Reuters reported that Yahoo! Inc. will sell as much as half of its 40% stake in Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group for $7.1 billion, ending years of fractious talks over how to extract value from its most prized asset. Yahoo also increased its stock buyback authorization by $5 billion to $5.5 billion as a result of the deal but said it might instead opt to distribute some of the proceeds through a dividend. The sale, announced on Monday, gives Yahoo $6.3 billion in cash and up to $800 million of new Alibaba preferred stock. After taxes, Yahoo will clear $4.2 billion.