PE firms Blackstone Group, Bain Capital eye Yahoo: report
01 Dec 2011
A consortium led by private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital is planning to bid for Yahoo Inc, in a deal that could value the internet giant at about $25 billion, Reuters yesterday reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
The potential bid by the consortium, which includes Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and Japan's Softbank Corp, has not yet been finalised, the news agency said.
Alibaba, in which Yahoo holds a 40-per cent stake, is yet to decide on participating in a bid for all of Yahoo. "Alibaba Group has not made a decision to be part of a whole company bid for Yahoo," Alibaba Group spokesman, John Spelich, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, owns 35 per cent of Yahoo Japan, while the remaining portion is held by Japanese internet firm Softbank.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba, run by founder-CEO Jack Ma, desperately wants to buy back its 40-per cent stake owned by Yahoo, while Softbank would like to take full control of Yahoo Japan.
Yahoo, which has a market cap of $19 billion, has also received at least three bids, including from private-equity firm TPG Capital, a group consisting of Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft Corp. and others including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Hellman & Friedman.
