The news was revealed after Alibaba’s debt adviser Rothschild sent out term sheets to banks, according to a Reuters report that cites people familiar with the matter.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":362434,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,entrepreneur,","session":"A"}']Alibaba, a privately owned group of web-based businesses, is well-known for its online marketplaces for business-to-business international and domestic trade. The Alibaba Group also includes retail and payment platforms, a shopping search engine and data-centric cloud computing services. It employs over 22,000 people in around 70 cities and regions.
While some analysts estimate Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba is worth up to $9 billion, Yahoo is currently exploring the idea of selling the entire company — meaning Yahoo might accept Alibaba’s $4 billion offer. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma (pictured) expressed interest in buying Yahoo in October, but now it appears the company is focused on Alibaba itself.
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Meanwhile, several other companies are rumored to be interested in purchasing Yahoo. As VentureBeat reported in November, Microsoft signed a nondisclosure agreement with Yahoo to take a closer look at its financial records, which could indicate the possibility of an acquisition. And in October, search engine giant Google was exploring the idea of a Yahoo buyout.
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