China’s Alibaba hires U.S. lobbying firm

By Geoff Duncan December 29, 2011

alibaba

China’s Alibaba Group has hired the high-power Washington D.C. lobbying firm Duberstein Group Inc., in a sign that the company is planning something that will require significant smoothing and persuasion in the U.S. capital. Industry speculation is centering on Alibaba maneuvering to buy back or reduce Yahoo’s stake in its company—or, if that fails, trying to take over Yahoo outright.

The Alibaba Group is one of China’s Internet success stories, running the e-commerce Alibaba site as well as Taobao consumer shopping site and controlling the AliPay online payment platform. Yahoo owns a 40 percent stake in Alibaba, and those holdings have turned into one of Yahoo’s most valuable assets in recent years as Alibaba’s fortunes have soared and Yahoo’s have stagnated in the wake of Microsoft’s unsuccessful hostile takeover offer back in 2008.

Japan’s Softbank is also listed as an Alibaba affiliate in the Duberstein Group’s disclosure. Softbank is the majority stakeholder in Yahoo Japan, controlling about 40 percent of Yahoo Japan compared to Yahoo’s 33 percent. As with Yahoo’s Alibaba holdings, Yahoo’s stake in Yahoo Japan has become important to the company’s bottom line, since Yahoo Japan continues to thrive.

Reports in Reuters and the Financial Times cite sources claiming Alibaba has retained Duberstein in the event it has to make a bid to take over Yahoo in its entirety. Although Alibaba chief Jack Ma has previously expressed interest in acquiring Yahoo, U.S. investment regulations might make such a transaction difficult, meaning Alibaba would likely have to partner with domestic investment groups as well as Softbank to pull a deal together.

The move marks the first time Alibaba has registered to lobby the U.S. government. Under U.S. law, firms are required to make disclosure of particular events within 45 days, including making contact with public officials. The date of Duberstein’s filing is December 1, which could indicate Alibaba’s efforts in Washington D.C. began as early as mid-October.

The Duberstein Group is headed by Kenneth Duberstein, who served as White House chief of staff under Ronald Regan. The firm’s clients include Goldman Sachs, BP America, Pfizer, and PepsiCo.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Web

U.S. senator introduces radical bill to protect people’s private data

facebook ftc settlement two factor phone numbers leaked header

A U.S. senator has called for a radical new approach to consumer privacy to be adopted following recent revelations about the sale and misuse of data by various technology companies. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has introduced a new bill as an even stronger update to his privacy legislation proposed last year.

The new legislation titled the "Mind Your Own Business Act," would give significant powers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate the sale and sharing of data by companies. It would allow the FTC to establish privacy and security standards and to levy significant fines of up to 4% of annual revenue against companies that do not meet those standards. There would even be an option to impose criminal penalties onto company executives who knowingly lie to the FTC.

Deals

A new Best Buy sale just started – our 11 favorite deals

Presidents Day sales with electonic devices packed in open boxes.

If you've been looking to do some shopping recently but haven't found the best time, you're in luck! Best Buy has just started an excellent weekend sale with many different products, but, to help save you some hassle, we've collected our 11 favorite deals from the bunch, ranging from robot vacuums to gaming laptops. So, without further ado, let's dive right in!
Shark ION Robot RV761 -- $143, was $260

If you're looking to dip your toes into robot vacuums without spending a lot, the Shark ION Robot RV761 falls within the Shark Ion 700 range and has a few nifty features, making it a good starting robot vacuum. For example, it has a triple brush mechanism that makes it great for picking up pet hair and does relatively well on carpeted flooring. It also has its own that allows you to schedule and control it to fit your schedule, and it comes with sensing technology that lets it avoid bumping into things. On the other hand, it doesn't have home mapping, which is great for the privacy-minded, but that does mean the occasional bump does happen. The Shark ION RV761 has about 90 minutes of battery life before it takes itself in for recharging.

Web

When is Prime Day 2023? Dates confirmed for the shopping event

Best Prime Day 2022 Deals graphic with multiple products.

After weeks of speculation, we finally know when Prime Day 2023 is kicking off. Amazon has announced that the event will start July 11 at 3AM ET and will run through July 12. As always, Prime members can score some fantastic deals from the sale with popular brands like Peloton, Victoria's Secret, YETI, and Sony just some of the names being touted by Amazon as featuring in the big sale. Members will also be able to shop more deals on small business products than ever before too. As always, expect great discounts on Amazon-owned properties like Kindles, Ring doorbells, Amazon Echo units, and so much more. It's the sale we've all been waiting for since Black Friday.

The Prime Day deals promise to drop every 30 minutes during select periods with deep discounts expected. Select discounts on other Amazon-related things are already available such as 20% off in-store purchases at when you spend $50 or more and . It's a small taste of what is no doubt to come with other Amazon properties likely to see discounts.