Today Softbank announced that it would be transferring its 4 percent stake in Yahoo in order to repay a loan to Citibank. Dating back to 2004, the amount owed is about $1.1 billion, repayable in either cash or shares as per the original agreement. The repayment is scheduled for the end of next month.
Softbank will still hold a 0.002 percent stake in Yahoo, not to be confused with Yahoo Japan which is jointly owned by the two companies (Softbank at 42 percent, Yahoo at 35 percent).
According to a Reuters report, analyst Yoshisugu Sasaki explained today’s announcement saying “This just looks like Softbank’s attempt to improve its finances.” The company says its net profit for the fiscal year is likely to be boosted 44.7 billion yen (or about $581 million).
Softbank and Yahoo also shared headlines over the course of this year as players in the very messy Alibaba/Alipay controversy, which was only just settled last month.
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