Verizon execs have confirmed the telco – which bought AOL past year for $4.4 billion – has been evaluating an acquisition of Yahoo.
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Bids for Yahoo’s core Internet assets are picking up. Though their bid was a bit on the low side of the spectrum last time, Yahoo has seen fit to let them into the final round, where they will be vying for a chance to increase their stable of ad tools, as well as expand their media and internet presence to a near-monolithic level.
USA telecommunications rivals Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc are set to go through to the third and final round of bidding in the auction for Yahoo Inc’s core internet assets, according to people familiar with the matter. The story did not identify the companies that placed bids above Verizon’s offer. Yahoo’s mobile apps and websites draw some 600 million users per month, and the company owns the app analytics firm Flurry.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported late last week that Verizon, which is said to be the favourite to land Yahoo, submitted a second-round bid worth US$3.5 billion (€3.11 billion). CEO Marissa Mayer has failed to revive the company since taking the helm in 2012. Besides Verizon, other bidders have been reported to include AT&T, private-equity firm TPG and a consortium that includes Bain Capital, Vista Equity Partners and Ross Levinsohn.
Yahoo’s disappointing financial results have drawn the ire of investors, most notably activist Starboard Value LP.
In February, Yahoo announced it was cutting 15 per cent of its workforce and narrowing its focus as it explored “strategic alternatives” that included selling itself after spinning off its multi-billion-dollar stake in Chinese Internet colossus Alibaba.
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Yahoo averted a proxy battle for control of the company earlier this year with a compromise that added four new board members, including a hedge fund chief who has been critical of management.
