Yahoo selling Alibaba stake for $7.1 billion

SHANGHAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40 percent stake in his Alibaba Group from Yahoo Inc for $7.1 billion, in a deal that moves the Chinese e-commerce leader closer to a public listing.

Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40% stake in his Alibaba Group from Yahoo Inc for US$7.1-billion, in a deal that moves the company closer to a public listing

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said it is to sell up to half of its stake in Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma's Alibaba Group back to the Chinese company for $7.1 billion, and hand most of the sale proceeds to its shareholders.

One of China's best known corporate leaders, billionaire Jack Ma, will step down as CEO of Alibaba Group, the e-commerce empire he founded to tap the nation's enormous online shopping potential, passing the reins to "a younger, better equipped" generation.