Yahoo looking for a buyer

Yahoo Inc. may consider selling itself, in the wake of firing its CEO Carol Bartz, if the right suitor came along, reports suggested Wednesday.

Bartz was fired on Tuesday for failing to turn around the fortunes of the former high-flying online search giant after 2.5 years at the helm. Yahoo has now had three CEOs in a little over four years.

In a statement Tuesday, Yahoo said it is undergoing a "comprehensive strategic review" in its latest effort to give investors a reason to buy its stock, but the company didn't offer details.

The stock gained more than 6 per cent to more than $13 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, after news of Bartz's firing spread.

But that's still well off the $43 level it sat at in late 2005.

The move came after the board of directors examined the company's assets and concluded Bartz hadn't done enough to maximize their value. Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said the company is open to selling itself to the right bidder.

A sale could consist of merging with another company outright, or splitting up the company and selling assets in several chunks.

At least one analyst thinks a sale is the most likely result.

"Given the succession of three CEOs in less than four years, it’ll be challenging for the board to find an A player who’d be willing to take on the daunting task, and for investors to wait for yet again another turnaround to happen," Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali said in a note.

"We believe that Yahoo! sells itself before a permanent CEO is announced," he said.

Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schachter said the handling of Bartz's departure was unseemly and a sign of even more drama to come at Yahoo.

Schachter said Yahoo could make a bold move by trying to buy the online video site Hulu.com, which is already talking to suitors, or trying to sell its 43 per cent stake in the Alibaba Group, one of China's most prized Internet companies. Bartz's tense relationship with Alibaba CEO Jack Ma had fed investor dissatisfaction about her leadership.