The Yahoo Inc. Board directors are likely to discuss whether to proceed with a plan to spin off its investment in Alibaba, currently worth more than $30 billion, find a buyer for Yahoo’s gaggle of Web properties, or both.
For the sale of Yahoo’s core businesses like- Yahoo Mail, news and sports sites, it is expected to get good response from private equity firms, media and telecom companies, hope Yahoo heads. The company has considered big merger deals in the past, mostly notably several years ago with Microsoft Corp., that it failed to strike.
Yahoo’s core business is shrinking, but it still represents some of the most visited services on the Web. Yahoo only lags Google Inc. and Facebook Inc.
Under Ms. Mayer, Yahoo has made investments in online video, advertising technology and mobile software that have failed to create meaningful traction for the company. Yahoo shares rose 7% in after-hours trading following news of the breakup talks, after closing at $33.71.