Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it would buy back $3 billion of its common shares to provide liquidity to stockholders looking to sell shares ahead of the company’s pending deal with Verizon Communications Inc.
Shares in Yahoo, which has a 15 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, were up 2 percent at $50.81.
The Dutch auction tender offer will expire on June 13, the company said.
Yahoo said its directors and executive officers will not tender any shares in the buyback offer.
Verizon agreed to buy Yahoo’s core internet properties last year for $4.83 billion in cash. It lowered the original offer by $350 million in February following two massive cyber attacks at the internet company.
After the Verizon deal, Yahoo will be renamed Altaba, a holding company whose primary assets will be its stake in Alibaba and a 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan.
