Appearing on CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer last Friday, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said the carrier is interested in acquiring some or part of Yahoo’s Internet assets. “We said on this show a month ago in December we would look at it. I think their board is being very responsible in how they’re doing this,” McAdam said. “We have to understand the trends that we’re seeing in some of their results now, but then at the right price I think that marrying up some of their assets with AOL under Tim Armstrong’s leadership would be a good thing.”
As noted by FierceWireless, McAdam’s comments confirm his eagerness to move Verizon further into the digital media arena. His comments come just a few weeks after Verizon CFO Fran Shammo declined to say whether the company is considering a purchase of Yahoo, noting “You can’t talk about something that’s not up for sale.”
Last week, the struggling Yahoo acknowledged it is exploring “strategic alternatives,” implying it’s likely looking for a suitor. Verizon spent $4.4 billion last year for AOL and its media assets including Engadget, The Huffington Post and TechCrunch. It then dropped $250 million on mobile advertising company Millennial Media, reminds FierceWireless.
It seems that almost any and all parts of the one-time behemoth Yahoo, headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, could be for sale these days as the company tries to finds its way in the new Internet world. Still, the company operates a range of mobile apps and websites that draw 600 million users per month. Shares of Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) closed down 92 cents or 3.29 percent yesterday, at $27.05. Shares of Verizon (NYSE: VZ) were down 24 cents or .47 percent, at $50.73.
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