Yahoo Inc. said Thursday it could reverse its May decision to return more than $4 billion to shareholders from selling part of its stake in a Chinese Internet company, a signal that new Chief Executive Marissa Mayer may want to use the cash for other purposes.
雅虎(Yahoo Inc.)周四说，该公司可能调整5月份做出的将回售一家中国互联网公司部分股权所得的逾40亿美元返还给股东的决定。这暗示出新任首席执行长梅耶尔(Marissa Mayer)可能希望将这笔现金转做他用。
Yahoo's statement, contained in a regulatory filing signed by Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse, sent the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's shares down 3.5% in after-hours trading to $16.17.
雅虎的声明令该公司股价在盘后交易时段下跌3.5%，至每股16.17美元。声明包含在一份提交给监管机构的备案文件中，文件上有首席财务长莫尔斯(Tim Morse)的签名。
In May, Mr. Morse helped engineer the sale of part of Yahoo's stake in Chinese Web company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. He said on a July 17 earnings call with analysts that Yahoo's board was committed to returning the proceeds from the Alibaba sale to shareholders, though the company hadn't determined the form or timing of such an action.
今年5月，莫尔斯参与筹划了回售雅虎在中国网络公司阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.)所持部分股权的交易。他在7月17日与分析师召开的收益电话会议上说，雅虎董事会承诺将回售阿里巴巴股权的所得返还给股东，不过公司尚未确定返还的形式及时间。
On Thursday, Yahoo said in the filing it may change its prior decisions because Ms. Mayer, who was hired three weeks ago, is reviewing the company's strategy.
雅虎周四在备案文件中说，该公司可能改变此前的决定，因为梅耶尔正在对雅虎的战略进行评估。梅耶尔三周前受聘担任雅虎首席执行长。
Ms. Mayer's 'review process may lead to a reevaluation of, or changes to, our current plans, including our restructuring plan, our share repurchase program, and our previously announced plans for returning to shareholders substantially all of the after tax cash proceeds' from the sale of Yahoo's stake in Alibaba.
文件中说，梅耶尔的评估过程可能导致我们现有计划的重估或改变，包括我们的重组计划、股权回购计划以及此前宣布的将回售雅虎在阿里巴巴股权的大部分税后现金所得返还给股东的计划。
Anne Espiritu, a Yahoo spokeswoman, said in a statement that Ms. Mayer is 'carrying out a careful review of the company's business' and is looking at 'potential strategy changes to Yahoo's current plans' along with fellow Yahoo directors. She declined to elaborate.
雅虎发言人埃斯皮里图(Anne Espiritu)在一份声明中说，梅耶尔正在与其他雅虎董事一起对公司的业务进行仔细评估，并考虑对公司现有计划进行可能的战略调整，但她拒绝详细说明。
Joseph Grundfest, a law professor at Stanford University who is an expert on corporate governance, said that 'management can, for entirely legitimate reasons, change its mind as long as it hasn't made a binding commitment' to return the cash to shareholders.
斯坦福大学(Stanford University)法学教授、公司治理专家格伦德费斯特(Joseph Grundfest)说，只要尚未就向股东返还现金一事做出具有法律约束力的承诺，如果有完全合理的理由，管理层就可以改变主意。
The potential about-face in Yahoo's spending plans falls in line with Ms. Mayer's technology-heavy background, ThinkEquity analyst Ron Josey said, but it still caught some investors by surprise.
ThinkEquity的分析师乔西(Ron Josey)说，雅虎支出计划可能出现的大调整符合梅耶尔的技术背景，但仍让一些投资者感到意外。
He noted a lot of shareholders bought the stock thinking that Yahoo was going to start a multibillion-dollar buyback plan that would help lift the stock's near-term value.
他指出，很多股东之所以买进雅虎股票，是因为他们认为雅虎将开始一项数十亿美元的回购计划，有助于在近期内提振雅虎的股价。
For years, the vast majority of Yahoo's market valuation has been tied to its stakes in Asian Web companies Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. Investors have placed little value on Yahoo's core business, which generates around $5 billion in revenue annually, mainly from selling online advertising.
多年来，雅虎市值的绝大部分都来自于其在亚洲网络公司阿里巴巴和雅虎日本(Yahoo Japan)的持股。投资者认为雅虎的核心业务价值并不高。雅虎核心业务每年实现营收约50亿美元，主要来自在线广告业务。
Yahoo currently has around $2 billion in cash, and Ms. Mayer already has shown signs she is willing to spend substantial sums to turn around the struggling Internet company.
雅虎目前约有现金20亿美元，梅耶尔已经显示出愿意花大笔资金将这家陷入困境的互联网公司扭亏为盈的迹象。
'She didn't come here to wind the company down,' Mr. Josey said. 'She came here to restore Yahoo to what it used to be.'
乔西说，她来这里并不是要任由雅虎走下坡路，而是要使雅虎重振往日的雄风。
She has told colleagues she is interested in hiring or acquiring new talent and products through acquisitions, among other things, and possibly investing in Yahoo's advertising technology, according to people briefed on the matter.
据了解情况的人士说，她对同事们说，她有兴趣通过收购获得新的人才和产品，并可能投资在雅虎的广告技术上进行投资。
'For someone who's thinking about a growth strategy, of course you should maintain as much cash on the balance sheet as possible, maybe for acquisitions,' said Mark Mahaney, a stock analyst at Citigroup Inc.
花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)的股市分析师马汉尼(Mark Mahaney)说，对于一个考虑增长战略的人来说，当然应该尽可能地将现金留在资产负债表上，或许可以用于收购。