Why Sovereign Wealth Funds Were Smarter Than Yahoo Shareholders

Screenshot of Yahoo.com from November 11, 2014
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo was founded by hungry entrepreneurs, Jerry Yang and David Filo. Post dot-com-boom, Yahoo had acquired, sold and shuttered many high-profile acquisitions such as Geocities, Overture Services, Hotjobs.com, Right Media and Broadcast.com (which made Mark Cuban very rich.) In 2013, Yahoo paid US$ 1.1 billion for a blog service called Tumblr, founded by young entrepreneur David Karp. Yahoo had purchased the trendy startup aspiring to challenge Facebook and Twitter. When Yahoo booked goodwill worth US$ 750.9 million from the deal, the company rebutted, “The acquisition of Tumblr is expected to bring a significant community of users to the Yahoo! network.” In comparison, back in 2013, Yahoo had only US$ 74 million in tangible assets.
Why did Yahoo buy a blog service that generates minuscule revenue, yet sell Alibaba?
Selling Alibaba
In 2005, Yahoo paid US$ 1 billion for a 40% stake in Alibaba. Peeling the onion back further, Yahoo hired Scott Thompson as CEO after firing Carol Bartz. [ Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view content. ]

Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited informed Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) that it agreed to terminate its strategic agreement effective March 31, 2019. In December 2017, Blue Sky Alternative Investments forged an agreement with PSP Investments to assist in committing capital in a number of agricultural investments.
Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., Ltd., the Seoul-based investment banking firm, has provided a US$ 375 million loan for a redevelopment in New York’s Times Square. It joins L & L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment Group who are bringing the development known as TSX Broadway to life. The building is at 1568 Broadway in Manhattan. TSX Broadway, a US$ 2.5 billion project when all equity financing is added in, will allow for renovations and expansion of the 46-storey building. An LED screen, which is not an uncommon sight in the Big Apple, will wrap around the corner of the tower. [ Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view content. ]
The Saudi Arabian government dispelled rumors that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will acquire football club Manchester United. However, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had talks regarding sponsorship with the football club. Manchester United signed a partnership deal with Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority in 2017.
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