Reuters interview with Yahoo CEO breaks news on Alibaba stake, Microsoft integration

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told Reuters in a Sept 15 interview that she has no interest in selling the companys stake in Alibaba, despite constant overtures from the Chinese Internet giant. The comments came amid much speculation that Alibaba had offered up to $11 billion for Yahoos stake. Shares of Yahoo initially fell on the news that Bartz wasnt interested in selling, but ended the day up nearly 5 percent on investor hopes of an eventual deal after she said that Yahoo had been constantly approached by Alibaba. BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis said of Bartzs remarks: Its highlighting the fact that Alibaba would like to reclaim the stake… Thats a positive, youve got a buyer. Responding to the Reuters report, Alibaba Group confirmed there were deal talks recently but they ended after an agreement could not be reached. The Reuters story was cited by Bloomberg, the New York Times Dealbook, Barrons TechTrader Daily blog, the New York Post and the AllThingsD blog. The Wall Street Journal wrote a similar story several hours later. Barclays cited the Reuters article in a note to investors the following day.