Yahoo and Alibaba Group issued a joint statement on Sunday, as the two companies look to resolve a dispute over a Chinese online payment service.
Last week it was revealed that Alibaba Group had transferred ownership of its popular online payment service Alipay to a Chinese company controlled by Alibaba Group CEO, Jack Ma.
Yahoo has a 43 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. But the two companies have had a rocky relationship in the past.
The restructuring has threatened to devalue Yahoo’s investment in Alibaba Group, leading both companies to release statements pointing fingers at one another.
Yahoo said the restructuring happened without the company’s knowledge. But Alibaba has countered that claim, and said the need to make the Alipay transfer had been discussed with the company’s board, which Yahoo sits on.
The statement on Sunday, although providing little new information, indicated that the two companies, along with Softbank, another major Alibaba shareholder, were working towards a resolution.
The statement read:
“Alibaba Group, and its major stockholders Yahoo! Inc. and Softbank Corporation, are engaged in and committed to productive negotiations to resolve the outstanding issues related to Alipay in a manner that serves the interests of all shareholders as soon as possible.”
Alibaba spokesman John Spelich said Alibaba Group has already received some compensation for the transfer of ownership of Alipay, but he declined to give further details.