Yahoo! and Alibaba?
Russell Flannery reports for Forbes.com tonight that Yahoo! is in advanced talks to purchase a 35% stake in China's Alibaba.com for almost $1 billion.
An agreement between Yahoo and Alibaba would be a setback for eBay, which has been expanding its investments in China’s online auction business and had been seen as interested in partnering with Alibaba. The U.S. company purchased locally owned Eachnet, then China’s biggest online auction site, in two stages for $180 million in 2002 and 2003.For Alibaba, a hook-up with Yahoo! rather than eBay might make more sense because there is less overlap with its core online auction business. It would also bring Alibaba the chance to tap into Yahoo!’s search expertise.
Add your comment... (note that all comments are reviewed before they're published)