Yahoo Want To Chop Up The Company And Sell Off The Parts

Two weeks after canning and CEO Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s board has not yet started looking for a replacement, the sources said.

Specifically, the board has not hired a search firm to find a new CEO, who would be the first step in a formal investigation.

Instead, the government was formed “sub-commission” to investigate the various transactions.

This sub-committee, according to sources, has approached private equity firms and media companies to solicit their interest in buying all or part of the company.

At least three private equity firms look seriously at buying Yahoo, says one industry source. Of these, Silver Lake may be the closest to making a serious offer. Hellman & Friedman is also said to be taking a look.

Any contract with a private equity firm, an industry source said, will depend on the explicit cooperation of the Asian partners Yahoo, Alibaba and Softbank, which would require the division of financial gain or otherwise Asian assets of Yahoo.

jerryyangsmallThis morning revealed that Silver Lake is participating in a tender offer for $ 1.6 billion of shares of Alibaba Group. The source considers this as a sign that Silver Lake is round the wagons of a possible agreement.

Meanwhile, the heart of business Yahoo seen by two private equity firms and the Board as an unwanted orphan.

“Nobody is interested to turn to Yahoo,” the industry source said.

Instead, the Board sub-committees and private equity firms are trying to reach businesses of various media to assess their interest in buying all or part of core business. In essence, say two people familiar with these tensions, Yahoo asked what are the business assets of Yahoo would be interested and what might be willing to pay for them.

In other words, the core business of Yahoo became a sort of yard sale: See something you like – point and make an offer.

Among the companies contacted, said the sources, the News Corp., Disney, and Glam Media.

Microsoft is also likely to be part of the transaction.

Focus of the board could change at any time, of course. If an attractive offer or the company does not materialize, the Board could focus on hiring a new CEO and turning around the company. But in the meantime, the heart of Yahoo’s business is essentially in purgatory.

The message of an insider in the industry is to get Yahoo board of directors, as the radius is this:

“Does anyone have any ideas? We do not.”

And more specifically, the source said, the Council’s message is as follows:

“Anyone with money ideas? Can they tell us what we should do?”