Gawker: valleywag, yahoo china

Yahoo's Asia problem — and how Microsoft solves it

Owen Thomas — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:40:19 EST

Pundits talk about the value of Yahoo's Asian investments — $12 a share and rising, given this morning's runup in the value of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba — as if they were pork-belly commodities. And yet it's hard to imagine Yahoo thriving when divorced from the vast markets of China and Japan. Yahoo owns 31 percent of Yahoo Japan and 40 percent of Alibaba, the operator of Yahoo China. To have a compelling worldwide growth story that matches Google's, Yahoo — under anyone's ownership — will need to win back those properties someday. Of all Yahoo's potential buyers, only Microsoft has the capital to acquire those stakes with comfort, and reunite them with their troubled American parent.

Alibaba makes its own cuts at Yahoo China

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:44:07 EST

Yahoo China today began job cuts that could close some of its new media units, according to RedLine China. The news comes as Alibaba Group, the owner of Yahoo China, announced it would start new search and advertising groups. What's wrong with Yahoo's efforts in those areas? Yahoo China is not a Yahoo subsidiary; Yahoo swapped its Chinese unit for a stake in Alibaba. These cutbacks seem unrelated to Yahoo's pending layoffs — but it's telling that Alibaba thinks it's better off with homegrown efforts than the businesses it inherited from Yahoo.

Aliba-what? Profit-taking drops Alibaba.com share price almost 20 percent

Jordan Golson — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:11:52 EST

Alibaba.com, the most anticipated IPO since Google, dropped almost 18 percent to HK$32.60 as quick-trading investors captured profits. Yesterday, on the first day of trading, Alibaba.com shot up 300% from HK$13.50 at open to HK$39.50. Perhaps investors who bought at the peak paused to look into Alibaba.com's real business. The Chinese B2B site matches up industrial buyers and sellers — want to buy 50,000 metric tons of Brazilian soybeans? Parent company Alibaba Group runs Yahoo China, which I suspect at least some retail investors thought they were buying. But no — Yahoo China wasn't part of the IPO deal.