Several private equity firms have approached Internet and media companies including News Corp and AOL Inc to gauge their interest in buying out Yahoo Inc, a source with knowledge of the approaches said.
The news comes as Yahoo, the No.2 search engine in the United States behind Google Inc, struggles to revive its revenue growth under the management of Chief Executive Carol Bartz, and to rebuild its buzz among consumers amid competition from social networking sites such as Facebook.
A potential deal would be contingent on Yahoo selling its prized Asian assets, including a 40 per cent stake in China’s Alibaba Group and 34.5 per cent of Yahoo Japan, the source said on condition of anonymity as discussions were not public.
Talks with News Corp and AOL began about two weeks ago and intensified in recent days, but Yahoo had not yet been approached as talks were still in their early stages, the source said.