November 07, 2005
Yahoo to Buy Back Stakes in Foreign Portals, For $500 Million
: Yahoo will buy the shares of its local portals in three European countries and South Korea that it doesn't already own for about $500 million, taking complete ownership of these sites.It reached a deal with Softbank Holdings to purchase its 30 percent stake in Yahoo U.K., Yahoo Germany and Yahoo France. It would also buy a 33 percent stake in Yahoo Korea from Softbank, Softbank Korea and Yahoo Japan.
The increased stake would give Yahoo flexibility in operations.
Forbes.com: Yahoo CEO Terry Semel said the deal allowed the Internet giant to take advantage of growth opportunities in Korea and Europe. Softbank meanwhile has apparently been shedding its less profitable holdings to fund its high-speed Internet access business in Asia and its acquisition of Japan Telecom.
Full details in the release here...
