Yahoo Inc., which spurned an acquisition bid from Microsoft Corp. in 2008, is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help defend against possible takeover approaches, said three people familiar with the matter.
While the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company hasn’t received an offer, Yahoo has been working with advisers for about two weeks to field any approach, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. AOL Inc. has talked with private-equity funds, including Silver Lake, about a possible bid, two people familiar with the matter said.
Yahoo climbed 4.5 percent Thursday after paring earlier gains of as much as 9.9 percent. The company had lost half its value since Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, withdrew an almost $50 billion bid in 2008, and sales haven’t grown under chief executive Carol Bartz, leaving Yahoo vulnerable to fresh overtures.
“The shareholders own this company, and the shareholders have lost a lot of value because of the actions of the directors and the management of this company,” said Lawrence Haverty, a portfolio manager at Gamco Investors Inc., which holds Yahoo shares. “Something’s going to happen.”
Discussions between AOL and private-equity firms are preliminary and have recently focused on a possible purchase of parts of Yahoo, two people said. The private-equity funds have weighed raising $10 billion to $12 billion, these people said.
