Verizon Closing In on Yahoo?

According to the Wall Street Journal yesterday, the pack of wolves looking to devour Yahoo is thinning out and Verizon is indeed emerging as the wolf to beat.  

Google, AT&T, Time, Comcast, and IAC apparently did not submit bids before last week’s deadline despite all the hype of a major bidding war.  The remaining competition appears to be from private equity firms which would not have the same synergy opportunities of a strategic buyer.  That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be aggressive nonetheless of course, but if the report has the bidders right it does seem as if Verizon’s bid is gaining momentum.

Verizon would combine Yahoo with its other internet media and advertising properties, which are headed by AOL and its various pieces.  And it would put an incumbent telco and wireless giant in a position to directly challenge the likes of Google and Facebook directly and at scale for the first time on the other side of the content fence.  Whether that’s a good idea or not for Verizon is another question entirely, but it sure would be interesting to watch.

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Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions