Warren Buffett and Dan Gilbert fight for Yahoo assets

Yahoo has repeatedly put up for sale. But all something did not develop. In 2008, Jerry Yang, the company's owner, refused a $ 44 billion Microsoft transaction. This time, it seems, there has been some progress, despite the statements of skeptics who do not believe in the successful sale of a company with a negative value .

The company claims an explosive duo from investor Warren Buffett and founder of Quicken Loans, NBA team owner Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Gilbert, according to The New-York Times.
')

What's happening

This kind of consortium is one of several bidders that went through the second bidding round, according to a source in the company. Recall that earlier, Yahoo sent a letter to potential buyers to form a specific proposal.

Rumor has it, citing unofficial sources that Gilbert was the initiator of the purchase. Buffett's company must provide the financial side of the transaction. Participating in the game for the assets of Yahoo such mastodons like Buffett and Gilbert shows the seriousness of intentions to sell Yahoo.

Other bidders include Verizon Communications and small investment companies from TPG Capital and the group uniting Bain Capital and Vista Equity Partners. Several private investors also got into the second round.

Yahoo declined to comment. Representatives of Quicken Loans Gilbert and Berkshire Warren Buffet also remain silent.

Why buy Yahoo!

It is clear that first of all, we are talking about the most famous brand in Silicon Valley. The very oldest search engine in the world has long since lost ground, giving way to younger rivals, such as Google and Facebook. A series of attempts to somehow reanimate themselves, initiated by the main partners and managers, failed.

As soon as Yahoo and its lenders began to talk about the formation of a preliminary sale offer, they were attacked by potential buyers and representatives of hedge funds. For example, Starboard Value.

But Yahoo is decidedly resolute. They even offered four chairs on the board for Starboard Value representatives. One of them was taken by the president of the investment company Jeffrey Smith, who now monitors the details of the transaction from the inside.

The company has already held talks with potential buyers, where the details of the agreement were discussed. The author of the NY Times article suggests that big players like Gilbert may be interested in the brand itself and its popular financial and sports online services.

It is strange that Buffett is involved in this story, who has repeatedly expressed his opposition to technology companies, excluding investments in IBM. It is likely that in this case he has a purely commercial and sporting interest. In addition, one of the directors of his Berkshire investment company, Susan Decker, is the former president of Yahoo.

As the newspaper notes, in 2014, Buffett and Gilbert already had a not very successful experience of interaction with Yahoo. They tried to run the Bracket Challenge (prediction competition) in the framework of the National Student League Basketball Championship with a billion dollar prize. Later, the competition application was withdrawn and bogged down in a swamp of lawsuits.

Other interesting materials and links from ITinvest :

• Online booking systems ׃ Booking com vs Airbnb
• The conditions under which the financiers work: A tour of the offices of Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg
• Retirement Hobby: How a 77-year-old trader made millions in the stock market
• Wolves and sheep, zombies and lobster traps: A concise dictionary of stock slang
• Research: How cyber attacks affect company stock value