WSJ : Verizon Leads Bids For Yahoo

(RTTNews) - Verizon Communications Inc.'s (VZ) pursuit of Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) received a boost as several prominent suitors opted not to make offers for the beleaguered Internet company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ahead of a Monday deadline for preliminary bids, the telecom giant was among a handful of firms moving ahead with offers to buy Yahoo or parts of it, compared with the roughly 40 firms that had initially expressed interest, the report said.

One interested suitor that won't be participating is Time Inc., which concluded the degree of difficulty in righting Yahoo's fortunes is too great, the report noted.

The report indicated that others that have opted not to make a bid include Google parent Alphabet Inc., Comcast Corp., AT&T Inc. and Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp.

According to the report, At least one other private-equity firm, KKR & Co., has expressed interest, though it wasn't clear whether it would place a bid Monday. Britain's Daily Mail & General Trust was still in talks with private-equity firms to become partners on a bid.