Verizon Communications Inc. plans to make a first-round bid for Yahoo Inc.’s Web business next week, and is willing to acquire the company’s Yahoo Japan Corp. stake.
Verizon and its subsidiary AOL Inc. are working with at least three financial advisers on the Yahoo bid, said three of the people. Hiring so many banks is a sign that Verizon is serious about its takeover plans — it has said since late last year that it is interested in buying some or all of Yahoo.
Verizon, which has a market value of about $213 billion, could give the Yahoo Japan stake to its shareholders or sell it, one of the people said.
Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo would prefer to sell its 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, worth about $8.5 billion, along with the core business, Bloomberg reported last month. The valuation of the combined assets will make it more difficult for private equity firms to finance a bid for both parts. Based on the financial information that it has seen, Verizon values Yahoo’s core business at less than $8 billion, one person said.
Yahoo said it would explore strategic alternatives, including selling its main Internet operations, earlier this year after scrapping a longtime plan to spin off its valuable Asian assets. The company’s stock has declined about 20 percent in the past 12 months.