Shares of Yahoo fell by as much as 7 percent after reports of problems in divesting Asian assets by the Internet company's new chief executive, Scott Thompson.

Yahoo shares closed at $15.36, down 76 cents, or about 5 percent, giving the Sunnyvale, Calif., company a market value of $19 billion.

Thompson announced Yahoo was seeking to restructure its investments in China's Alibaba Group, in which it holds a 40 percent stake, as well as in Yahoo Japan, where it owns 20 percent stake, when it announced fourth-quarter results last month.

Investors, such as New York's Third Point Capital, bought into the company after the Sept. 5 firing of CEO Carol Bartz in part because they believed those assets were undervalued. Yahoo hired both Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co. for advice, which calls for Yahoo to spin off these investments into tax-free vehicles.

Earlier, Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma said he might bid for the whole of Yahoo and had tried to secure financing from Singapore's state investment arm, Temasek Holdings.

Last week, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said he wouldn't run for re-election along with three other veteran directors. The company elected two new outside directors immediately and added it remained in active discussions with our partners in Asia about restructuring.

Yahoo representatives declined to comment on reports of the dispute, first carried by AllThingsD, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Yahoo shares have gained 18.6 percent since former CEO Bartz was ousted,

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