Softbank sells piece of Yahoo holding
Softbank Inc. has sold almost 3 million shares of its stake in Yahoo Inc. (YHOO: news, msgs). Based on Wednesday's closing price, the stock would have been worth almost $340 million. Softbank, which also holds major positions in E*Trade Group (EGRP: news, msgs) and ZDNet, said it would use the proceeds of the privately negotiated transaction to further its global expansion efforts. "Yahoo continues to be a key holding in our Internet strategy, and we currently have no plans to sell any additional Yahoo shares this year," said Ronald D. Fisher, CEO of Softbank Global Ventures.
Tops in Japan
Yahoo's Japanese portal site (yahoo.co.jp) is the most popular Internet destination for the country's Web users, according to a report from Media Metrix (MMXI: news, msgs). Yahoo drew 9.8 million at home visitors in April, followed by At Nifty (nifty.com), another portal. Others in the top 10 included Microsoft.com and Japanese shopping portal Rakuten (rakuten.co.jp). Media Metrix estimates there are 16.4 million Internet users in Japan, representing 13.3 percent of the population. Two-thirds of Japanese Web users are male, the report added.
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