Verizon Communications Inc plans to submit a second-round bid of around $3 billion for Yahoo Inc’s core internet business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Private-equity firm TPG was also expected to submit a second round bid for the assets before Monday’s deadline, the newspaper reported.
Reuters reported last month that Verizon had added Bank of America to its roster of investment banks, as it looked to gain an edge over other bidders for Yahoo’s core assets.
Yahoo is expected to hold at least one more round of bidding, and the offers could change by the final round, the paper reported.
Wilson, a noted tech investor at Union Square Ventures, was bullish on a potential Verizon-Yahoo hookup.
“I don’t think it’s crazy,” Wilson said. To be one of the handful of companies that are the most successful at selling advertising, and creating content, “it makes sense to get a bunch of those assets under one roof,” he said. “You get synergies and get scale. I think if you could get it at the right price, you should do it.”
Speaking of the right price, Wilson said if a Verizon-Yahoo deal goes through, he’d “like Tumblr back,” adding, “I’m not joking, but maybe not for the price we sold it for.” Yahoo bought the micro-blogging platform in 2013 for $1.1 billion.
