Yahoo Stock Up Despite Loss Of AT&T Contract; Verizon Near?
Yahoo ( YHOO ) stock rose early Thursday, despite the loss of an AT&T ( T ) contract one analyst valued at $100 million in revenue. AT&T is shifting Web and mobile portals hosted by Yahoo to a new provider, Synacor ( SYNC ), the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday. AT&T archrival Verzion Communications ( VZ ) continues to be viewed by most observers as the front-runner to acquire all or part of Yahoo, which is weighing a number of buyout offers. Yahoo reportedly closed preliminary bidding on April 18. Yahoo is said to be leaning toward a cash deal , which could work in Verizon’s favor, some analysts say. Private equity firm TPG Capital is among others that reportedly have submitted a bid. Verizon last year bought AOL for $4.4 billion. Yet, AT&T’s decision to shift Web properties away from Yahoo to Synacor might be unrelated to Yahoo’s expected sale, some observers say. Tiny Synacor’s shares more than doubled on the news, albeit merely to 3.30. Yahoo stock was up more than 3% in early trading in the stock market today , near 37.50. AT&T stock was flat Thursday morning.