Yahoo‘s board decided on Friday to proceed with negotiations to sell the bulk of its shares in the Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan to its Asian partners, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. A deal, which involves a complicated asset swap with Alibaba and Softbank, values the holdings at roughly $17 billion.

Shares of Yahoo were relatively flat on Friday, rising about 1 percent, to close at $16.19.

Although the troubled Internet portal is moving closer to a transaction that could yield a significant cash infusion, people close to the matter said a deal may not be finalized for many weeks.

It is also unclear whether the board will pursue a separate minority investment from its private equity suitors, Silver Lake and TPG Capital, both of which made offers last month. Silver Lake has not walked away from a possible deal, but is currently in a holding pattern, while the board resolves its Asian investments, according to another person with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks are private.

For the last three weeks, Yahoo has been in discussions with Alibaba and Softbank, to hammer out a deal that will allow Yahoo to sell its shares in a tax-free manner.

Under the terms of the current proposal, Alibaba and Softbank, the largest shareholder of Yahoo Japan, will create new subsidiaries, holding a mix of cash and operating assets. Yahoo will then exchange the bulk of its stake in Alibaba and all of its shares in Yahoo Japan for these subsidiaries. The deal, known as a tax-free cash-rich split, values Yahoo’s 40 percent stake in Alibaba at roughly $12 billion and its 35 percent stake in Yahoo Japan at $5 billion. Yahoo will retain a 15 percent stake in Alibaba.

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