British newspaper and media giant, Daily Mail has emerged as the latest to evince active interest in acquiring controlling stake in Yahoo, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The company though has cautioned it is too early to come to any firm conclusion as yet as things still are in the initial stages.
Verizon is already being considered the frontrunners in acquiring Yahoo and is also reported to have expressed interest in buying the Japanese arm of the ailing company as well to further consolidate its bid. Google is also in the race though that applies to only the core business of Yahoo.
Time Inc. has stated they are exploring options to bid for Yahoo while several equity firms are reported to form a joint consortium to acquire Yahoo.
According to a Pew Research finding, Daily Mail is considered among the world’s top 10 most visited newspaper sites. It reported a profit before tax of $400 million last year while its revenue stood at $2.6 billion. The company said it has initiated discussions with several potential bidders though there is no surety their efforts won’t fall through midway.
As for Yahoo, the company might well have seen its best days already in its present form. All efforts to revive its fortunes under the leadership of Marissa Mayer has proved futile so far.
The US internet giant had even resorted to lay off 1,700 or 15 percent of its employees earlier in the year as a last ditch attempt to remain competitive. Prior to that, it withdrew its online video hub project which was envisioned as a competitor to the likes of YouTube or Netflix.
Shareholders seem to have run out of patience and are desperate to see the company regain its financial health. There have been several coups as well led by prominent shareholder Starboard in the latest attempt to pull down Mayer along with the governing body though such attempts failed to yield the desired results each time.
Among Yahoo’s assets up for sale include a search engine and email, along with news and sports services.
