Yahoo Has Interest From Verizon, IAC/InterActive, News Corp, Time

Yahoo has seen revenues continue to decline, despite turnaround efforts since Ms Mayer took the top job three-and-a-half years ago. Yahoo Inc.’s board is planning a series of meetings this week is also considering how to make the most of its valuable stake in Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

In the eyes of some, Yahoo’s core business is worth “less than nothing”, though that’s open to interpretation.

Excluding the Alibaba stake, cash holdings and partial ownership of Yahoo Japan, Starboard valued Yahoo’s core business at about $2bn.

Firms like Softbank Group Corp. would also be interested in Yahoo.

This is potentially an intriguing move for the Internet-based company.

Ms Mayer has been adding services for smartphones and tablets, new tools for advertisers and media content in a bid to attract audiences and marketers.

The company commands about 2% of the global digital advertising and search advertising markets, trailing Google and Facebook in both, according to research firm eMarkerter.

Yahoo has said it wants to proceed with the deal anyway, and close it this month.

Shares have tumbled as a result, falling by around 30% this year.

The Yahoo! board’s deliberations over selling its media and search business have prompted possible interest from entrepreneur Peter Chernin, sources say. Chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt left earlier this year.

“Realising value is far from assured”, he said.

Shares Of Yahoo Inc. were notable movers during the trading session. (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO, Mayer has not had a major luck in growing the company revenues and analysts have estimated the company’s revenue to see a dip of 8% in the current fiscal. In a previous article, Bidness Etc noted that this may not be a good time for Alibaba to buy back Yahoo’s stake in its shares.

After the disappointing financial report was released, Mayer said in a conference call with Bloomberg News that “there’s a unique opportunity to reset and realign”. “We have the right talent, the right strategy, and the right assets to drive long-term sustainable growth for our investors”, she said. Yahoo! failed to get prior approval of its plan from the Internal Revenue Service, raising the risk that the agency could later challenge the spinoff’s tax-free status.