Yahoo to buy 10 pc of Alibaba.com IPO shares

Hong Kong, Oct 9: US Web giant Yahoo Inc. will subscribe for 10 percent of the shares to be sold by China's largest e-commerce company, Alibaba.com Ltd, according to a term sheet, in an initial public offering that is expected to raise roughly US$1 billion.

The company plans to sell 858.9 million shares, or 17 percent of its enlarged share capital, in a Hong Kong listing.

Of the shares to be sold, 75 percent are earmarked for global investers, 15 percent for Hong Kong retail investors and 10 percent for Yahoo.

In 2005, Alibaba absorbed Yahoo's China business, and Yahoo bought a 40 percent stake in Alibaba for US$1 billion.

The China consumer business will not be included in the IPO, sources have said.

Reuters
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