雅虎放棄剝離所持阿里巴巴股份

Yahoo has abandoned plans to spin-off its $32bn stake in Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba under pressure from investors worried about a potentially huge tax bill and is looking at selling or spinning off its core business instead.

迫於投資者壓力，雅虎(Yahoo!)放棄了剝離其在中國電商集團阿里巴巴(Alibaba)所持的320億美元股份的計劃，轉而考慮出售或剝離其核心業務。投資者們擔心，雅虎剝離所持阿里巴巴股份可能要繳一大筆稅。

Shares in Yahoo rose more than 2 per cent in after-hours trading in New York after people familiar with the matter said the board had walked away from the spin-off which had been announced in February and was due to take place at the end of this year.

雅虎股價在紐約股市盤後交易時段上漲逾2%。此前有知情人士稱，雅虎董事會放棄了今年2月宣佈的剝離計劃，該計劃原本定於今年底實施。

The Silicon Valley company will now consider spinning off its core business together with its stake in Yahoo Japan, a move that poses a much lower tax risk, those briefed on the situation said. Yahoo did not respond to requests for comment. CNBC first reported the news.

瞭解情況的人士表示，雅虎現在將考慮剝離其核心業務以及其在雅虎日本(Yahoo! Japan)所持的股份，這麼做的稅務風險要低得多。雅虎未對記者的置評請求作出迴應。上述消息最初是由CNBC報道的。

The stunning reversal by chief executive Marissa Mayer comes months after US authorities refused to give any guidance or reassurance that the spin-off of Yahoo’s 15 per cent stake in Alibaba would be tax-free, as the internet company had originally said in February.

雅虎一開始曾在今年2月表示，美國當局會給予雅虎剝離所持阿里巴巴15%股份的交易免稅待遇。但數月前，美國當局拒絕就此提供任何指引或保證。雅虎首席執行官瑪麗莎蔠耶爾(Marissa Mayer)因此上演了這一驚人的改弦易轍。

Several legal experts told the Financial Times in February that Yahoo’s spin-off risked incurring a punitive tax bill. At the time Yahoo advisers were adamant that no such risk existed under existing US tax laws.

今年2月，幾名法律專家曾告訴英國《金融時報》，雅虎剝離阿里巴巴股份的交易可能會招致重稅。當時，雅虎的顧問們曾堅定地表示，依照美國現有的稅法，不存在這種風險。