Time Inc exploring bid to acquire Yahoo's core internet business: Report

Time Inc, publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and Time magazines, has been exploring a bid to acquire Yahoo Inc's core internet business for several weeks, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday.

Time Inc has been reaching out to bankers on pursuing a deal with Yahoo, according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous, not being permitted to speak to media.

Time Inc, which has seen print advertising dollars dry up in recent quarters, has been trying to boost its digital presence through acquisitions of online properties, saying this month it would buy social networking pioneer MySpace.

Verizon Communications Inc, which owns internet pioneer AOL, has expressed interest in Yahoo's core business, which includes Mail, its news and sports sites and advertising technology.

Analysts at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey have valued the core business at $6 billion to $8 billion.

It is unclear if the company has retained an investment bank as financial advisor on the potential bid. Yahoo officially launched the sale of its core business on Friday.

Time Inc could pursue a Reverse Morris Trust transaction with Yahoo, a tax-free deal in which one company merges with a spun-off unit, Bloomberg reported earlier on Tuesday. Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer would not be part of the company under such a deal, Bloomberg reported, citing one of its sources.

Time Inc has heard a presentation from Citigroup Inc bankers on pursuing a deal with Yahoo, the Bloomberg report said, adding that Time had not retained Citigroup.

Time Inc and Yahoo declined to comment on the report while Citigroup could not immediately be reached for comment.

Earlier this month, the magazine publisher reported a bigger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter profit, hobbled by a strong dollar and a drop in income from print ads, and said ad revenue would likely be flat or fall in the current quarter.

Time Inc's US beauty, fashion, retail and financial magazines have all experienced a drop in ad sales as more people go online for news and information. The company said this month it would buy advertising company Viant as it seeks to boost revenue from digital properties.

Time Warner Inc spun off its publishing business Time Inc in 2014 to focus on its more profitable broadcasting businesses.

Time Inc shares were down 2 per cent at $14.04 in afternoon trading on Tuesday. Yahoo shares dipped about 1.4 per cent to $30.73.

Flexible Camera Developed That Can Be Wrapped Around Objects

A team led by an Indian-origin professor at Columbia University has created a novel sheet camera that can be wrapped around everyday objects to capture images that cannot be taken with one or more conventional cameras. "Cameras today capture the world from essentially a single point in space. While the camera industry has made remarkable progress in shrinking the camera to a tiny device with ever increasing imaging quality, we are exploring a radically different approach to imaging," said Shree K Nayar, computer science professor at Columbia University. "We believe there are numerous applications for cameras that are large in format but very thin and highly flexible," added Nayar who graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, in 1984. Nayar's team designed and fabricated a flexible lens array that adapts its optical properties when the sheet camera is bent. This optical adaptation enables the device to produce high quality images over a wide ...

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo back Apple in its fight over encryption with FBI

The nation's leading tech companies joined security experts, independent programmers and civil liberties advocates who filed court papers backing Apple in its fight with the FBI over an encrypted iPhone used by an extremist killer. Several law enforcement groups, meanwhile, filed briefs in support of federal authorities who are seeking Apple's help in hacking an encrypted iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. These "friend of the court" briefs come in advance of a March 22 hearing in which Apple is asking U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym to reverse an order requiring Apple to create a software program that overrides iPhone security features. That program would let authorities try to unlock Farook's phone by guessing its passcode; Apple says it would make all other iPhones more vulnerable to future attacks. Relatives of five people who were killed, along with one survivor of the December 2 attack, also filed a brief saying the FBI's ...

Samsung Galaxy S7: 5 Features That Stand Out

Klutzes of the world should rejoice Friday, as Samsung officially starts sales of its new water-resistant Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The phones, which the company first unveiled last month, are now widely available in all their dunkable glory. The latest two Samsung's high-end smartphones are supposed to be able to withstand submersion up to five feet for as long as 30 minutes. So you're in luck if you drop your phone in the drink - as long as you fish it out reasonably fast. Samsung provided me with a review unit of the Galaxy S7, a 5.1-inch smartphone. Once I opened the box, I duly dropped the high-performance, expensive phone into my sink while doing the dishes. Apart from the mild palpitations I gave myself, there was no damage at all. The phone's touchscreen didn't work under water, but it continued on without a hiccup and was unharmed and still working perfectly when I pulled it out. It was just as impressively zippy as ever and no worse for ...

IntellectBeat

Search This Blog