Yahoo pulls U-turn on plans to spin-off remaining Alibaba stake

Yahoo has reversed course, abandoning plans to spin off its stake in Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group and instead aiming to undertake a complex “reverse spin off” in which all assets and liabilities except for the Alibaba stake will be transferred to a new publicly traded company, South China Morning Post reported, citing a statement from the American Internet search and services firm. Tax risk to investors of US$12 billion in the initial plan led the company’s board to pursue the new initiative, a major blow to chief executive Marissa Mayer, who had hoped to sell the Alibaba stake and rebuild Yahoo’s core search and advertising operations.