Verizon a leading contender to buy Yahoo

AFP, SAN FRANCISCO:  US telecoms giant Verizon has emerged as a leading contender to take over struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo as other big names reportedly drop out, US financial media said ahead of quarterly results yesterday that are expected to show the portal suffering a further sharp drop in revenue.
Verizon Communications’ chances climbed as other big names including Google parent Alphabet, Time Inc. and US broadcasting and cable television group Comcast all decided against making an offer, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unnamed sources, just before a reported deadline for submissions passed on Monday.
Bloomberg News, also citing unnamed sources, said Verizon Communications is now vying for Yahoo’s core business against at least two other bidders: TPG, a private equity firm, and YP Holdings, the online advertising business of what was previously called Yellowpages.com.
The parent group behind British tabloid Daily Mail, Daily Mail and General Trust, revealed last week that it was in talks with “a number of parties” over a potential bid for Yahoo but it is unclear if the negotiations resulted in an offer.
Although Yahoo is one of the best-known names on the Internet and is used by around one billion people, it has fallen behind Google in web searches and has been steadily losing ground in online advertising.
The status of bidding for Yahoo’s core business is expected to be among questions fielded by Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer during a briefing after the first-quarter results are released later in the day.
Consensus among analysts is that Yahoo revenue and earnings-per-share for the recently ended quarter will show double-digit per cent age drops from the same period a year earlier.
BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis questioned to what extent lackluster earnings would ramp up shareholder pressure on the company to sell assets or overhaul management.
While the online advertising industry is booming and Yahoo has spent billions of dollars on acquisitions, it is poised to post revenue declines, according Gillis.
“That’s not a very good scorecard,” he said. “That’s the problem, and the company’s strategy is three years into this.”
Earlier this year, the company opened the door to a sale of its core operations at the same time that it was pursuing Mayer’s efforts at revitalization.
But some shareholders are impatient, and one activist investment group has launched a bid to gain control of the Yahoo board, calling the transformation efforts a failure.
While some buyers might be interested in Yahoo’s core web business or parts of it, others may bid for its valuable stakes in Alibaba or Yahoo Japan.
Mayer joined Yahoo in mid-2012 as chief executive from Google, a result of a proxy war launched by an activist investor group.

Verizon a leading contender to buy Yahoo

AFP, SAN FRANCISCO: US telecoms giant Verizon has emerged as a leading contender to take over struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo as other big names reportedly drop out, US financial media said ahead of quarterly results yesterday that are expected to show the portal suffering a further sharp drop in revenue. Verizon Communications chances climbed as other big names including Google parent Alphabet, Time Inc. and US broadcasting and cable television group Comcast all decided against making an offer, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unnamed sources, just before a reported deadline for submissions passed on Monday. Bloomberg News, also citing unnamed sources, said Verizon Communications is now vying for Yahoos core business against at least two other bidders: TPG, a private equity firm, and YP Holdings, the online advertising business of what was previously called Yellowpages.com. The parent group behind British tabloid Daily Mail, Daily Mail and General Trust, revealed last week that it was in talks with a number of parties over a potential bid for Yahoo but it is unclear if the negotiations resulted in an offer. Although Yahoo is one of the best-known names on the Internet and is used by around one billion people, it has fallen behind Google in web searches and has been steadily losing ground in online advertising. The status of bidding for Yahoos core business is expected to be among questions fielded by Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer during a briefing after the first-quarter results are released later in the day. Consensus among analysts is that Yahoo revenue and earnings-per-share for the recently ended quarter will show double-digit per cent age drops from the same period a year earlier. BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis questioned to what extent lackluster earnings would ramp up shareholder pressure on the company to sell assets or overhaul management. While the online advertising industry is booming and Yahoo has spent billions of dollars on acquisitions, it is poised to post revenue declines, according Gillis. Thats not a very good scorecard, he said. Thats the problem, and the companys strategy is three years into this. Earlier this year, the company opened the door to a sale of its core operations at the same time that it was pursuing Mayers efforts at revitalization. But some shareholders are impatient, and one activist investment group has launched a bid to gain control of the Yahoo board, calling the transformation efforts a failure. While some buyers might be interested in Yahoos core web business or parts of it, others may bid for its valuable stakes in Alibaba or Yahoo Japan. Mayer joined Yahoo in mid-2012 as chief executive from Google, a result of a proxy war launched by an activist investor group.