Yahoo! (YHOO) owns 39% of large Chinese online e-commerce operation Alibaba. Alibaba executives would like to exchange that stake for cash. Yahoo! could give that money to shareholders as a special dividend. It may be a bit late for that. Alibaba’s stock is down 62% this year. The situation is another example of bumbling by Yahoo! management.

According to Bloomberg, "Alibaba.com Corp., the closely held Chinese Internet company whose biggest shareholder is Yahoo! Inc., is ready for a possible purchase of the U.S. company’s stake in it if the shares are offered."

The Alibaba stake could have had some real value for Yahoo! shareholders. At this point, the benefit would be terribly modest.

Douglas A. McIntyre