Investors sent Yahoo! shares up more than 5 percent yesterday after a Bear Stearns analyst said the Internet giant is a “top pick” in the technology sector and could be a possible takeover target for a company like Microsoft
Yahoo! stock closed trading yesterday at $23.97, up $1.24, or 5.5 percent, from its closing price Friday after Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck wrote that Yahoo! “remains an attractive acquisition candidate for either traditional media companies seeking to deepen their exposure to the Internet or from technology companies like Microsoft.”
“Indeed, we believe that Microsoft continues to evaluate Yahoo! as a target,” Peck continued.
Peck estimated that Yahoo! could fetch at least $40 per share in a deal, and possibly go as high as $50 per share.
In May, The Post reported that Microsoft was seeking to re-enter takeover talks with Yahoo!, going as far as making an informal offer to buy the company over dinner between Microsoft and Yahoo! executives.
Then-CEO Terry Semel rebuffed the offer. A month later, Semel was moved into an executive chairman position, and co-founder Jerry Yang was installed as CEO.
As Peck noted, Semel Yahoo! has lost 13 high-ranking executives in the last year, leading Peck to predict that Yahoo! could be more aggressive on the hiring front and could possibly target employees of rival Google.
Also yesterday, Yahoo! said it has struck a deal to buy BlueLithium, the fifth-largest U.S. online advertising network, for $300 million in cash. BlueLithium is a three-year-old company that specializes in the fast-growing market for technology that tracks consumer behavior.