• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, October 7, 2011

Buying the troubled company time and options, Yahoo is reportedly close to unloading its stake in Yahoo Japan.

Sources tell the Financial Times that Yahoo's 35% stake in the business -- which has a total market value of about $19 billion and net cash of $20 billion -- is an "asset the company could dispose of relatively quickly, simplifying its strategic alternatives." Strategic alternatives, in this case, likely means selling what remains of Yahoo to the most fit bidder.

"The move to sell its stake in Yahoo Japan ... is seen as a way to streamline a potential takeover of the parent company," writes Fox Business, citing FT.com's report.

"The news comes on the heels of reported interest from Chinese e-commerce company, Alibaba, to acquire Yahoo in its entirety," ZDNet reminds us.

Moreover, "the Yahoo Japan stake is relatively straightforward to value and of limited strategic appeal to Yahoo US," FT.com explains.

"In contrast to its troubles in the west, Yahoo enjoys a more positive profile across many Asian markets," The Next Web points out. "Yahoo Japan is the country's most visited site (according to Alexa rankings) and the company's most recent public data demonstrates its strong performance, particularly on mobile which accounted for around 20% of its 1,762 million page views in March."

"Yahoo is exploring the possibility of allowing Softbank Corp., which owns a roughly 40% stake in Yahoo Japan, or the Japanese business itself, to raise money against the stake and buy out Yahoo in a tax efficient manner," MarketWatch reports.

Yet, Yahoo is unlikely to spin off its Yahoo Japan stake to U.S. investors -- "an option the company had explored earlier this year -- as initial discussions with the Internal Revenue Service were not encouraging," notes Reuters, citing FT.com's report.