SoftBank will sell majority of it’s 4% holdings in Yahoo Inc. booking a profit of approx. 44.7 Billion yen or $577M: http://bit.ly/oPzJm7

Softbank Corp. said Friday it is selling most of its 4% stake in Yahoo Inc., pocketing a handsome profit by following through on a previously arranged plan to dispose of the shares.

After taking on mountains of debt to buy Vodafone Group PLC’s Japan operations in 2006, Softbank was able to transform itself from an Internet provider into Japan’s third-largest and fastest-growing cellphone carrier.

Under the terms of a $1.14 billion loan struck in February 2004, Softbank had agreed with Citibank that it would repay the major U.S. bank with a specified number of Yahoo shares.

Softbank obtained the Yahoo shares in 1995 when the California-based Internet company was still in its infancy. The difference between the relatively higher price paid for those shares in 1995 and the value of the shares as the Citibank loan is settled will result in an extraordinary profit of $990 million in the fiscal year ending March 2012, Softbank said. Softbank noted that the one-off profit will likely boost its net profit for the fiscal year by about ¥44.7 billion ($577 million). Via WSJ.

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