Greenlight Capital chief David Einhorn unloaded his stake in Yahoo! Inc. just months after building a sizable position, swallowing a “modest loss” after an ownership dispute tarnished the Internet company’s prized Chinese assets.

Greenlight told investors it was exiting the investment after it emerged that China’s Alibaba — of which Yahoo! owns about 40 percent — had transferred its highly valued online-payments business to a separate company controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

That move marked the latest blow to Yahoo!, which CEO Carol Bartz is struggling to get back on a growth track. Its Asian assets, including its slice of Alibaba, are deemed the most valuable portion of the company.

Yahoo! shares fell 1.3 percent yesterday to $15.61.