AOL, News Corp, PE firms mull Yahoo takeover
14 Oct 2010
Several private equity firms have approached US-based Internet pioneer AOL Inc and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to explore the possibility of taking over Yahoo Inc.
The news floated yesterday by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), sent the Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo's stock price soaring by 5.7 per cent to $15.25 yesterday and gained another 9.5 per cent to $16.71 in extended trading.
Citing people familiar with the matter, WSJ said that Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group are among the private equity firms that are keen on teaming up with AOL to buy Yahoo or trying to take it private on their own.
It added that at least two or three other private equity firms would join in later if a proposal is firmed up.
Bloomberg reported that although Yahoo has not received a proposal, it has hired Goldman Sachs to fend off a potential takeover.
One of the takeover scenarios being talked about is Alibaba, the $567 million Chinese e-commerce firm in which Yahoo holds a 39-per cent stake, will buy back the stake from Yahoo, which will hive off smaller assets to rival media and technology companies, the report said.
Another could involve AOL combining its operations with Yahoo in a reverse merger after Yahoo sells its stake in Alibaba.