SBC Acquires Stake in Yahoo! From Softbank

Telecommunications provider SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC) will acquire a 3 percent stake in Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) by purchasing shares from Japanese investor Softbank, the companies said late Thursday.

Softbank will continue to own more than 16 percent of Yahoo! and will remain the Internet company's largest shareholder, said Ron Fisher, vice chairman of Softbank America.

"We are glad to have SBC as another large strategic holder of Yahoo! stock," Fisher said.

Internet Venture

SBC said the deal will strengthen its relationship with Yahoo!, the No. 1 Web portal, as the two work on a plan to provide Internet access services.

San Antonio, Texas-based SBC says it is the leading provider of DSL high-speed Internet service in the U.S. The company provides a range of telecom and Internet services and owns 60 percent of Cingular Wireless, the second-largest wireless communications company in the United States.

Yahoo! chairman and CEO Terry Semel said the agreement "demonstrates SBC's strong confidence in Yahoo!'s future direction."

Branching Out

Yahoo! -- which on Thursday won a bidding war for online employment company HotJobs (Nasdaq: HOTJ) -- has been expanding into new areas as it seeks to reverse a decline in revenue.

The company has begun offering paid search services, a videoconferencing venture and an e-book store, among other things, in a bid to reduce its dependence on advertising revenue.

The plan with SBC, announced in November, is to provide co-branded DSL and dial-up Internet services beginning in mid-2002. The companies said they will offer a range of "customized products and services" geared to broadband Internet access.

SBC and Softbank did not give a price for their planned transaction. Softbank America spokesman Steve Murray told the E-Commerce Times that the value was "pretty close" to the market value of Yahoo! shares. In early trading Friday, the shares were up 88 cents to $18.65.

SBC 'Optimistic'

Overall, Murray said Softbank is "optimistic" about the outlook for Yahoo!, including the company's growing e-commerce business. "E-commerce is a big part of Yahoo's ongoing future," he said.

"It's obviously an exciting piece of their ongoing strategy, and something they're seeing a lot of growth in."

Yahoo! said Wednesday that its sales volume between Thanksgiving and Christmas surged 86 percent from a year earlier, as users bought items ranging from video-game consoles to toys and clothing.

The company is now beginning a post-holiday sales channel featuring end-of-year discounts from merchants including Eddie Bauer, Godiva and Old Navy.