List Of Yahoo Internet Business Suitors Now Includes Time Inc.
Add Time ( TIME ) to the list of companies reportedly interested in exploring a bid to acquire Yahoo ’s ( YHOO ) Internet business, joining Verizon Communications ( VZ ), AT&T ( T ) and others. Time has been studying the Yahoo bid for several weeks, reaching out to bankers to help finance the deal, according to a report from Reuters , citing a source familiar with the situation. Time is the publisher of Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and Time magazines. A report from Bloomberg also said that Time is considering a Yahoo deal. Bloomberg said that Time could pursue a deal structure with Yahoo called a Reverse Morris Trust, a tax-free transaction in which one company merges with a spun-off subsidiary. Yahoo has reportedly rebuffed several potential buyers for its core Internet assets, including private equity firms. Verizon, which last June acquired AOL for $4.4 billion, has expressed interest in Yahoo’s core business. In addition to AT&T, other companies interested in exploring a deal for Yahoo include private-equity firms Bain Capital Partners and KKR ( KKR ). On Friday, Yahoo said that it had formed a committee of independent directors to entertain offers for its core Internet business. Also last week, Yahoo said that it will shut down seven digital magazines , following through on its layoffs and reorganization plans aimed once again at trying to rejuvenate growth. Yahoo in December abandoned plans to spin off its stake in Alibaba Group ( BABA ) and announced that it would instead look to possibly spin off its core Internet business and other assets, including its stake in Yahoo Japan, into a new company. Yahoo stock was down more than 1% in afternoon trading in the stock market today .