Yahoo to spin off its stake in Alibaba

The investment company, SpinCo, will own all of Yahoo's remaining 384 million shares of Alibaba stock, valued at US$40 billion based on the Jan. 26 closing price, Yahoo announced Tuesday.

The stock will be distributed pro rata to Yahoo shareholders, resulting in SpinCo becoming a separate publicly traded company, Yahoo said.

SpinCo will also own a "legacy, ancillary Yahoo business," Yahoo said, the name of which it did not disclose.

Spinning off Yahoo's stake in Alibaba could help get more shareholders on CEO Marissa Mayer's side as she tries to turn around the struggling Internet company. Yahoo shares were trading at around $51.66 in after-market hours on Tuesday, up nearly 8 percent.

After the spinoff, Yahoo will continue to operate its core business and hold its 35.5 percent share in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo said.

News of the spinoff was announced alongside Yahoo's 2014 fourth quarter results. Revenue dropped by about 1 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Net earnings plummeted from $348 million to the $166 million.

Much of Yahoo's current market capitalization of $46 billion comes from its stake in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan.

"Throughout my tenure with the company, we have worked tirelessly on a tax-efficient alternative that would maximize the value of our Alibaba investment for our shareholders," Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said in the company's announcement. "A tax-free spin off accomplishes this and delivers value directly and exclusively to our shareholders," she said.

The composition of SpinCo's independent board of directors and its management team will be announced prior to the close of the transaction, Yahoo said. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2015, in the fourth quarter, after the expiration of the one-year lock-up agreement on the Alibaba shares.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is zach_miners@idg.com