Alibaba's Ma: "very interested" in buying Yahoo

Jack Ma, the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is keen on buying Yahoo Inc if the opportunity presents itself and has held discussions with other potential buyers about options.Asked whether Alibaba might like to pick up the ailing U.S. Internet company, Ma told an audience at Stanford University that he would be "very interested in Yahoo." The former English schoolteacher later added that, were he to have his way, he would be eager to acquire all of Yahoo, not just the stake it owns in Alibaba. "The whole piece of Yahoo," Ma said in answer to a question from the audience about what part of Yahoo he was interested in. "China is already ours, right? It's already in my pocket." Yahoo shares leaped 5 percent to $13.80 in after-hours trading. Acquiring Yahoo could help Ma expand his online empire into one of the world's most important Internet markets.

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