Daily Mail in Yahoo takeover talks

Will Jerry and David's Guide join the Sidebar of Shame?

Yahoo may soon find itself acquired by Daily Mail publisher DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust), which has confirmed it is in talks with private equity firms to snap up the once-great internet giant.

DMGT is looking to bolster its operations in the US in light of its acquisition of "The Voice of Generation Y" Elite Daily last year and the growing popularity in the States of dailymail.com.

"Given the success of dailymail.com and Elite Daily, we have been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders [for Yahoo]," said a spokesman for DMGT.

"Discussions are at a very early stage and there is no certainty that any transaction will take place."

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer launched a strategic review of the ailing company in February 2016, which includes plans to axe 1,700 staff - 15 per cent of the firm's global work force - and sell company patents, real estate and other holdings. The goal is to save $400m annually in order to help the company deal with a steady decline in revenue.

DMGT is not alone in eyeing up Yahoo, with rumours circulating back in March 2016 that Microsoft is in talks with private equity firms about a potential acquisition.

Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo for $45bn in 2008.

While Yahoo is apparently keen to make itself look attractive to potential buyers, it started the week with a massive global outage in its Yahoo Mail service, which was blamed on a severed undersea cable.