Yahoo! Mustn't Fumble Asian Assets

What will Yahoo!(YHOO Quote) and its board do next to try to win back its shareholders' support?

It's highly likely they will seek to appease disgruntled shareholders by unlocking value in their collection of Asian assets, which currently make up 35% of the value in Yahoo!'s $20-a-share valuation. But Yahoo! shareholders need to be vigilant as to how this is done, especially with regard to the nonpublic entities Taobao.com and AliPay.com (the eBay (EBAY Quote) and PayPal of China, respectively).

It's been a difficult seven months for Yahoo! shareholders, who saw their shares increase in value to $30 from $19, only to drop back to pre-Microsoft (MSFT Quote) bid levels. At the shareholder meeting earlier this month, Yahoo!'s board strongly defended itself, saying it had done everything possible to achieve a deal with Microsoft. It also laid out the case for why its go-it-alone strategy would succeed and why Yahoo! still has an enviable array of assets that neither Microsoft nor anyone else can replicate anytime soon. ...