While many have pondered over the alternatives for Yahoo's potential buyer, Valleywag has pointed out that Yahoo Japan has been left out of the mix, citing the possibility of Yahoo Japan taking on Yahoo, and citing 7-11's business history as a model to Yahoo's success. There haven't been any discussions that have been made part of public knowledge concerning this as an actual option for Yahoo, but it's interesting enough to look at on this fine Presidents Day. Yahoo owns a 40% stake in Yahoo Japan, and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang also sits on the board.
With an estimated value of $29 billion, Yahoo Japan seems to outshine Yahoo's worth prior to the Microsoft bid. The pivot point here would be Softbank, which owns 41% of Yahoo Japan. Yet with close ties to Bill Gates and Yang, it seems like the conversation would have already com up if this were to be a viable option for Yahoo. It may be interesting to note that Softbank also has a stake in Alibaba, which may also be looking to have some say in the potential merging of Yahoo into the Microsoft camp.