Alibaba IPO poses test for Yahoo CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will face a $10-billion decision in a few months.

She already has made many changes since taking over nearly two years ago, but all the internal reshuffling and deal-making has merely been a prelude to her biggest test.

The pivotal moment in Mayer’s tenure will come after Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce leader, completes one of the biggest initial public offerings of stock in US history. The IPO triggers a provision requiring Yahoo Inc. to sell about 40 percent of its stake in Alibaba. The sale is expected to generate a major windfall that will intensify the pressure on Mayer to revive Yahoo’s revenue growth after years of lethargy.

“This is Marissa’s moment of reckoning,” says Moshe Cohen, a Columbia University business professor who has been tracking Yahoo’s ties with Alibaba.

Mayer acknowledged as much Wednesday during an appearance in New York at a conference hosted by TechCrunch.

“We know this is of critical importance to our investors,” she said. She declined to say much more, citing securities regulations that restrict the public comments of executives involved in pending IPOs.