AOL and several private-equity firms could team up to make a bid for Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone are among the companies that have expressed interest in teaming up with AOL to buy Yahoo or trying to take it private on their own, the people said, adding that two or three other firms could be interested in participating if a formal buyout proposal is drawn up. The sources cautioned that talks are vey much in a preliminary stage and do not yet involve Yahoo. One of the scenarios under discussion is a deal in which China's Alibaba would buy back Yahoo's 40 percent stake in Alibaba. Some of Yahoo's other assets would also be sold off to interested media or tech companies, and the remaining company would be of a much smaller valuation for which private-equity firms could get financing. Another scenario involves AOL combining its operations with Yahoo in a reverse merger after Yahoo disposes of the Alibaba stake. Alibaba chief executive Jack Ma has expressed interest in repurchasing Yahoo's stake in his company, which analysts value at about USD 10 billion. Separately, AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong has also talked privately about the idea that Yahoo could buy AOL, according to a person familiar with the matter. Another person familiar with the matter said private-equity firms may also look to partner with media companies to buy Yahoo. Bloomberg reports citing three people familiar with the matter that Yahoo! has hired Goldman Sachs to help fight off any unwanted takeover attempts. While the company hasn't received an offer, Yahoo has been working with advisers for about two weeks to field any approach, according to the report. Microsoft previously tried to acquire Yahoo in 2008.
