Slumping share causes problem in employee morale

Slumping share causes problem in employee morale

Yet in spite of such concerns, the administration’s initiative still makes more sense than overly prescriptive, top-down legislation that could stymie innovation. And companies seem to be willing to do more to defuse the growing backlash over online privacy. At a press conference to promote the government’s initiative, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), an industry group that counts many of the biggest players in the online-advertising world among its members, said these firms were now committed to respecting “do not track” technology embedded in web browsers—something many companies had previously resisted. The DAA said it hoped that over the next nine months it would get functionality included in all browsers that would allow consumers to block tracking with only a few clicks. (Although this will not give users total privacy: firms will still be free to, say, gather data for market-research purposes and product development.)
The prime motivation for the bill of rights and the DAA’s announcement is to assuage fears in America that have been stoked by repeated online-privacy snafus. But American web firms are also keeping their fingers crossed that these initiatives will impress European regulators, who are busy strengthening their already strict privacy regimes. Like American consumers, however, the Europeans will want to see the voluntary codes in action before deciding whether or not they deserve a big round of applause.
Shareholders can be such nuisances. This week the Alibaba group, China’s biggest internet firm, announced that it wants to delist the shares of Alibaba.com, its business-to-business arm, that are traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company, and its founder and chairman, Jack Ma (pictured), made no attempt to sugar-coat the decision.
One big motivation for delisting, the parent company said, is to have the freedom to run its offshoot “free from the pressure of market expectations, earnings visibility and share price fluctuations.” It also admitted that its slumping share price had been causing problems inside the company: “A depressed share price may continue to adversely impact employee morale,” it said.
The deal, which will set Alibaba back $2.3 billion, looks likely to succeed. One reason to think so is the hefty premium on offer. A bit over a quarter of Alibaba.com’s shares are publicly traded, and the firm is offering those unhappy shareholders HK$13.50 ($1.74) per share. That matches the offer price of the firm’s initial public offering in 2007, and is roughly 46% higher than the last closing price two weeks ago, when trading in the of heavy industry firm’s shares were halted.