Struggling Internet company Yahoo Inc. has agreed to sell half of its 40% stake in Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba for about $7.1 billion.

The deal, announced late Sunday in the U.S., will see Alibaba Group buying back the stake from Yahoo $6.3 billion in cash and up to $800 million of Alibaba preference shares.

preference shares：優(yōu)先股；（享有優(yōu)先權(quán)的）優(yōu)先股票

The announcement caps at least a year of on-and-off talks as Yahoo has tried to sell its stake. Money from the sale might help Yahoo appease shareholders by giving it the ability to pay dividends, make acquisitions or buy back its own shares.

on-and-off:斷斷續(xù)續(xù)；間歇的

The companies also have an agreement for Yahoo to sell the remainder of its Alibaba stake in stages later.

in stages：分階段的；分級的

Yahoo's interim chief executive, Ross Levinsohn, said in a statement that the agreement provided "clarity" for Yahoo shareholders.

A person with knowledge of the deal said there were incentives built into the transaction that would make it attractive for Alibaba Group to hold an initial public offering by the end of 2015.

The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the details, said there was no timing or formal commitment for an IPO.

Alibaba Group is in the process of privatizing its Hong Kong listed unit.

in ?the process of:在……的過程中

Alibaba Chairman and Chief Executive Jack Ma said the deal established a "balanced ownership structure that enables Alibaba to take our business to the next level as a public company in the future."

回顧：【讀報筆記】系列>>

點擊查看口譯備考專題，閱讀更多相關(guān)文章！