Saturday, October 08, 2011

Microsoft, Alibaba & others consider bid for Yahoo

News this week: According various media reports, Microsoft is considering a second bid to acquire Yahoo. A first bid was made in 2008. Microsoft is also reportedly considering bidding with a partner, although no specific company has been named. Various media reports suggest that Yahoo is currently preparing to send its financial information to potential buyers in the coming few days.

Yahoo’s current market value is approximately US$19 billion. In 2008, Microsoft offered to pay as much as US$47.5 billion or US$33 per share for the company, but the offer was rejected at the time by Yahoo’s board.

Companies also thought to be interested in the acquisition include Providence Equity Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake Partners, DST Global and the Alibaba Group.

Alibaba’s chairman and CEO, Jack Ma, has publically stated that he is “very interested” to buy Yahoo. Yahoo holds a 40% stake in Ma’s company. Yahoo’s share price was US$15.65 at closing on 6th October.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

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