Jonathan Miller, the former chief executive of AOL, is apparently trying to raise money to buy Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Miller has been talking to the only people who have any money left to invest right now, deep-pocket private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds. Miller would like to purchase the whole Yahoo! enchilada at $20 to $22 per share, for a total value of $28 to $30 billion.
Yahoo! stock is spiking on the report. As of 1:15, Yahoo! is trading at $11.74, up 9% on the day.
Last week, Zac Bissonnette wrote about the fact that Carl Icahn has recently increased his stake in Yahoo! Icahn bought nearly seven million more shares in the company last week, raising his stake in Yahoo! to roughly 5.5%. Is it possible that a buyout led by Miller is part of Icahn's plan?
Whatever the backroom maneuverings, there is a lot of skepticism about any kind of Yahoo! deal, no matter who leads it. Financing such a big deal would be mighty difficult in this market, and Yahoo!'s valuation remains in flux. So you should probably take the news as reported: people are talking about a deal for Yahoo! but no deal is in place.
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