The Silver Lake consortium - which includes Microsoft - has offered $16.60 per share for a minority stake in Yahoo, much lower than the $31 per share tender made in 2008. Bids are lower than what recent Yahoo investors must have been expecting.
Bloomberg reported that the Silver Lake consortium – which includes Microsoft – has offered $16.60 per share for a minority stake in Yahoo, much lower than the $31 per share tender made in 2008.
“Silver Lake, working with Microsoft Corp., venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, offered to buy convertible preferred securities equal to a 10 percent to 15 percent stake for as much as $3 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the bids made this week are private,” Bloomberg stated.
The offer is about 6 percent higher than Yahoo’s current stock price. Another potential buyer, TPG Capital has offered more.
Bids are lower than what recent Yahoo investors must have been expecting. The company was expected to discuss the offers yesterday.
Alibaba, which Yahoo owns a 40 percent interest in, have indicated a desire to buy the entire company and are waiting to see how the partial stake offers are received.
“Alibaba is waiting to see whether Yahoo’s board will deem the partial-stake bids inadequate and invite it into negotiations to acquire the whole company, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Alibaba is open to acquiring its stake back or making a larger push for all of Yahoo,” Bloomberg was told.
If either Microsoft or Alibaba acquire part or all of Yahoo, the internet should get interesting next year as the transition occurs. As Search Engine Watch reported earlier this week, the Silver Lake consortium includes Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, who could also become the company’s new CEO.