Microsoft in talks with private equity firms regarding funding for Yahoo sale

Microsoft Corp executives are in initial talks with potential investors Yahoo Inc to contribute to the financing to buy the troubled Internet company, a person familiar with the situation said.

The talks are preliminary, said the person, and Microsoft focuses on preserving the relationship between the two companies. Microsoft and Yahoo have long been the search and advertising agreements.

private equity firms interested in Yahoo approached Microsoft, the person added. Microsoft declined to comment.

Yahoo is auctioning its core business of Internet, including search, mail and news sites. Internet pioneer vanished has been struggling to keep up with alphabet and Facebook Inc Google Inc in the battle for online advertisers
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Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said in December that the US wireless service provider You could look at buying Yahoo's main activity if it was a good fit.

activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP moved on Thursday to topple the entire board of Yahoo, including CEO Marissa Mayer, who has struggled to turn the company around in his nearly four years in charge.

Microsoft's interest in Yahoo comes nearly a decade after another approach. In 2008, then-CEO Steve Ballmer tried unsuccessfully to buy Yahoo for about $ 45 billion.