Verizon Communications, long considered the favorite in the Yahoo asset sales sweepstakes, plans to submit a $3 billion bid, according to a published report.
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American telecoms juggernaut Verizon will reportedly offer about $3bn for Yahoo’s core internet business in a second round of bidding.
Verizon may be moving closer towards purchasing Yahoo’s main Internet assets.
It remains unclear whether other companies that participated in an earlier round of bidding submitted fresh offers on Monday.
Bidders have included TPG, Verizon, YP Holdings and a consortium led by Bain Capital and Vista Equity Partners, people familiar with the matter have said.
Verizon couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Separately, the publication reports that these non-core assets could fetch a price of over $1 billion. The company has received more than 10 initial offers ranging from about US$4 billion to US$8 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer started a review of the company’s options in February after pressure from investors and a failed turnaround. The telecom giant would likely combine Yahoo’s web properties, which together attract more than a billion users a month, with its growing business in online ads.
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This would include Verizon shelling out some more bucks if Yahoo! would agree to cover the cost of employee severance payments for those told to sling their hook after the deal was completed. The bulk of its roughly $35 billion market capitalization is now comprised of its stakes in China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan.
