The bidding war for Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) is heating up following the deadline for second-round proposals on Monday. According to a report from CNBC, the company has received “multiple” offers at or above $5 billion for its core business.
While the specifics from Yahoo’s suitors have not been disclosed, we do believe that Verizon Communications (NYSE:VC) planned to bid around $3.5 billion, putting it among the lower proposals that Yahoo may have received. Other notable bidders include private equity firm TPG Capital LP and AT&T (NYSE:T) .
Yahoo also recently announced an auction to sell around 3,000 of its patents. According to a statement from the company back in March, Yahoo expects its non-core assets, including patents and properties, to sell for $1 billion to $3 billion.
“This represents a unique opportunity for companies operating in the internet industry to acquire some of the most pioneering and foundational patents related to web search and advertising,” said a Yahoo spokesperson.
It is believed that Verizon would not be interested in Yahoo’s patents. Competing tech giants like Microsoft (NYSE:T) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) seem like more obvious potential buyers, although neither company has publicly expressed interest yet.
On the core business side of things, Verizon appears to be a perfect match for Yahoo, as the internet service provider has ramped up efforts to increase content delivery, mobile video, and online advertising. Yahoo’s one billion users is second only to Google and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) .
Yahoo’s board has begun considering second-round offers and will move on to the final round by next week. Bidding is expected to be finished by mid-July.
YAHOO! INC (YHOO): Free Stock Analysis Report
AT&T INC (T): Free Stock Analysis Report
VISTEON CORP (VC): Free Stock Analysis Report
MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report
ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research