YHOO stock: The two biggest U.S. telecom providers look to be facing off in a fight to own the embattled web portal.
Verizon Comunications (VZ) is working with former Yahoo (YHOO) investment banks to bid for the company’s core assets, according to headlines from Reuters.
The publication claims that Yahoo has added Bank of America (BAC) to its list of bank investment advisers, as the U.S. telecom giant seeks an edge over other bidders. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam on Tuesday suggested that buying Yahoo would add size and scope to the company’s mobile-ad business.
“We can’t talk about Yahoo!, but that’s a possibility,” McAdam was quoted as saying at an investor conference in Boston hosted by JP Morgan (JPM). “That’s a possibility to gain greater scale.”
Reuters’ report also notes that Verizon, which has been widely considered by Wall Street as the top candidate to acquire Yahoo, is examining how the company’s other assets up for sale, such as search, mail and messenger, could be combined with the corresponding businesses of AOL, acquired by the New York-based telecom last year for $50 per share in cash for a total price of $4.4 billion.
Given its synergies with AOL, analysts see Verizon as the most likely candidate to prevail in the June 6 auction for Yahoo’s core internet business, which has prompted interest from a number of private equity firms and other bidders such as Time Inc (TIME), AT& T (T), which had previously decided against making an offer but its continued presence in the bidding process pits it against rival Verizon, and Berkshire’s Warren Buffett, who has offered to be a potential finance partner for Quicken Loans Inc founder Dan Gilbert.
While valuation estimates for Yahoo’s core assets vary, reports have suggested April 18 bids for the assets of the struggling internet company ranged from $4 billion to $8 billion. Verizon did not submit the highest offer in the first round of bidding, according to a Bloomberg report.
Price Action: Yahoo shares rose 0.44 percent to $36.92 in pre-market trading on Friday, while Verizon was flat at $50.16.
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