Dive Brief:
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Verizon, a digital advertising business and a private equity firm appear to be the only bidders for ailing web giant Yahoo, according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday.
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Though the process is private, in addition to Verizon, private equity firm TPG and YP Holdings LLC, a digital advertising business related to what was previously known as Yellowpages.com, have all submitted bids, according to the report.
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Meanwhile, Yahoo released its first quarter earnings report Tuesday after the market's close, which showed that revenue fell 11% to $1.08 billion, just beating analyst's expectations.
Dive Insight:
Yahoo extended the deadline for first-round bids for its core internet operations by a week, but still received limited interest. For Verizon, Yahoo's assets could combine well with its online business AOL.
AT&T, Comcast and Microsoft, which were previously rumored to be interested in a potential bid for the company, have apparently decided against it. According to previous reports, Microsoft was considering financial contributions for the potential deal.
Yahoo’s downward spiral has done little to encourage potential bidders. This year, Yahoo is estimating that its revenue will drop around 15% and its earnings will drop more than 20%. As the company has continued its financial slide, more reports have surfaced of drastic leadership changes for the internet company once a deal is closed, including the potential ousting of current CEO Marissa Mayer and potentially the entire board.
