Buried in the Wall Street Journal’s story today on a potential bid for Yahoo (YHOO) by a combination of AOL (AOL) and private equity firms is this nugget: Alibaba Group, in which Yahoo holds a 40% stake, last month reportedly “sounded out” eBay‘s (EBAY) interest in a deal for Yahoo. The journal, which attributed the information to “people familiar with the matter,” said there were never serious discussions.
Nonetheless, that news certainly provides one more sign that the relationship between Alibaba and Yahoo isn’t exactly cozy. Alibaba has been trying to buyback the stake Yahoo holds, but CEO Carol Bartz appears uninterested in selling. However, almost any of the contemplated transactions involving Yahoo would likely involve the sale of its stakes in both Alibaba and Yahoo Japan.
YHOO this morning is up 22 cents, or 1.4%, to $16.15.
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