Alibaba plans to borrow $3bln to buy back Yahoo! stake

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chinese online commerce giant Alibaba plans to borrow $3 billion to buy back the stake Yahoo! owns in the company, a report said Thursday, Feb 9, as the struggling U.S. Internet firm overhauls its Asia holdings.

Alibaba, whose Hong Kong shares were suspended from trading on Thursday, is raising money from six banks and the loan is expected to be finalized this month, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unidentified sources.

Alibaba gave no reason for the trading halt and its spokesman John Spelich declined to comment when contacted by AFP, the agency said.

The report comes after Yahoo! on Tuesday announced a boardroom shakeup to breathe fresh life into the Internet firm that has been struggling to re-invent itself and appease disappointed investors.

Chairman Roy Bostock said he would step down from the board along with three other directors - just weeks after Jerry Yang, who co-founded Yahoo! and had an ill-fated stint as chief executive, resigned from all of his positions.

Bostock, in a letter to shareholders, also said Yahoo! was in "active discussions" with its partners in Asia on restructuring its holdings in the Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan.

Alibaba is 43 percent owned by Yahoo! and Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma has a long-standing offer to buy all or part of the company.