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Yahoo buyout talks have continued to heat up and jumping into the mix is private-equity firm Blackstone (BX_) who are now working with Yahoo!’s Asian partners Alibaba and Softbank to create a buyout package that Yahoo will agree to.
News of the partnership comes one week after Bloomberg revealed that Alibaba and Softbank had not signed an exclusivity agreement with Yahoo! which in turn gave them the option to find outside investors who would be willing to partner with the company’s in securing the deal.
In earlier November it was revealed that several potential buyers had signed confidentiality agreements which allowed them to more closely examine Yahoo’s books but prohibited them from sharing that information with potential partners.
Yahoo is currently undergoing a “strategic review” of their business model in order to maximize shareholder returns. Amid the company’s possible options is a complete takeover of the company, the option to sell off their Asian interests or possibly finding a minority partner to help increase the company’s holdings.
With Blackstone coming on board Alibaba and Softback now have access to the world’s largest private-equity fund which could help the company’s who are already two of Yahoo’s biggest shareholders. Yahoo currently owns 40% of Alibaba and nearly 35% of Yahoo Japan.
Other company’s possibly jumping into the bidding process are Google, Microsoft and private-equity firms TPG Capital and Silver Lake, the latter two which have signed non-disclosure agreements.
Which company do you think would be the best suitor for Yahoo! or Yahoo!’s Asian assets?
