Alibaba shares fall as Microsoft withdraws Yahoo bid

Hong Kong-lisited shares in Alibaba.com fell 6% on Monday to HK$15.25 (US$1.96) after Microsoft abandoned its takeover bid for Yahoo, which owns 39% of Alibaba Group, Alibaba.com’s parent, the South China Morning Post reported. Despite speculation that the decline was caused from Microsoft’s withdrawn takeover bid, some analysts said Monday’s drop was mostly due to profit-taking ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings report, due today. Alibaba.com’s shares had risen 29% to HK$16.20 (US$2.08) from April 21 to last Friday. Alibaba.com chief executive David Wei said the withdrawal of Microsoft’s takeover bid for Yahoo had no significant impact on the industry.