Yahoo said on Monday that it will push ahead with the spin-off of its stake in Alibaba, the Chinese ecommerce company, by the end of the year, despite signs that US authorities are unhappy about allowing such deals to take place without incurring a tax charge.
The disclosure that the spin-off would go ahead, subject only to an opinion from the company’s tax advisers, sent Yahoo shares up by more than 3 per cent in after-market trading, erasing part of the 5.25 per cent loss they had suffered during normal trading on Monday.
Doubts about the fate of Yahoo’s long-planned disposal of its Alibaba stake, currently worth some $22bn, were heightened earlier this month when it revealed that the Internal Revenue Service had declined to issue a letter in advance of the deal confirming that it would be tax-free. The IRS did not indicate which way it would rule, leaving a question over a deal that is central to the $27bn value of Yahoo itself.
The IRS went on to issue a public notice this month that it was “concerned” about deals that fit the pattern that Yahoo was planning and was considering issuing new guidance on such deals. US companies have been able to spin off significant shareholdings and other assets free of tax provided they place them in a new company along with ongoing operations.
However, the IRS also signalled that any change in its guidance about the tax status of spin-offs would not apply retroactively, easing some of the worries among Yahoo investors.
The mixed signals from US tax authorities left Yahoo facing a number of options, none of which would has been as good for shareholders as a clean, tax-free spin-off.
It said on Monday it would continue with the original plan even in the absence of confirmation from the IRS, as long as it received a legal opinion about the tax-free nature of the deal, with the transaction due to take place in the final quarter of this year.
周一雅虎(Yahoo)表現，將持續推進在歲尾前剝離其手中持有的阿裏巴巴(Alibaba)股分——只管有跡象註解美國政府並不肯許可公司不繳納稅款就展開這種生意業務。阿裏巴巴是一家中國電子商務公司。
依據這一爆料，雅猛將只遵守該公司稅務參謀的意見，持續展開剝離生意業務。新聞傳來，雅虎股價在盤後生意業務中上漲逾3%，令周一生意業務日時代5.25%的吃虧幅度收窄了一部門。
本月早些時刻，對付雅虎計劃已久的阿裏巴巴股分處理計劃的運氣，人們的疑惑大大增長。其時，該公司表露美國國稅局(Internal Revenue Service，IRS)謝絕在生意業務前發出信件，確認這次生意業務將不會被課稅。IRS並未昭示將若何判決，從而為該生意業務留下了一個問號。對付雅虎270億美元的市值來講，此次剝離生意業務是一個焦點題目。
接著，IRS曾在這個月宣布一份通知布告，表現非常“關心”那些與雅虎籌劃中生意業務的模式符合的生意業務，而且在斟酌為此類生意業務宣布新的劃定。此前，美國企業一向可以將所持有的大批股權及其他資產剝離而沒必要繳納稅金，前提是它們將這些資產和正在運營的營業一道註入一家新建立公司。
不外，IRS也曾表現，對剝離生意業務稅務狀態劃定的任何變革，都不會溯及既往。這一亮相在必定水平上減輕了雅虎投資者的擔心。
美國稅務政府開釋的各種抵觸旌旗燈號，令雅虎面對一系列選取。對股東來講，全部選項都比不上清潔而無需繳稅的剝離生意業務。
周一，雅虎表現即使沒有IRS切實其實認，該公司也會在懂得有關該生意業務是不是免稅的司法看法後，持續依照最初籌劃履行，生意業務定於在本年末了一季度展開。
市場價：HK$ 92
