The mobile phone wars could be the answer to the woes of Yahoo Inc.as AT&T joined the bidding for the Sunnyvale, Calif. -based Internet business yesterday – likely in part to spoil plans by its archrival, Verizon, to acquire the ailing company.
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Digital marketing firm YP – in which AT&T owns a 47% equity stake – had been looking at a deal with Yahoo but has since abandoned that, according to Bloomberg’s report.
Verizon has been widely considered by Wall Street as the leading candidate to acquire Yahoo. Previous year it bought DirecTV.
For Yahoo, the selloff of its core business is just the latest stage in the slow demise of the former Internet stalwart.
Yahoo has reportedly received more than 10 initial bids ranging from around US$4 billion-$8 billion. The company could merge its mobile service business segment with Yahoo’s advertisement technology.
Representatives for AT&T, Verizon, Yahoo and YP declined to comment. TPG, a group led by Quicken Loans Inc. founder Dan Gilbert – and backed by Warren Buffett – as well as a team financed by Bain Capital and Vista Equity Partners have all submitted bids for Yahoo, according to people familiar with the matter. YP was formed in 2012 by the combination of AT&T Interactive and AT&T Advertising Solutions.
AT&T didn’t show much interest in Yahoo until Verizon became its likely suitor, so the move is probably as much about taking on Verizon as it is expanding its own advertising portfolio.
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Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer had announced a review of the company’s options in February following pressure investors as no significant headway was made in the turnaround.
