Yahoo trying to sweeten sales pot with patent portfolio - CNET

Yahoo is stepping up its fire sale with the addition of a portfolio of about 3,000 patents it hopes will fetch more than $1 billion, sources tell The Wall Street Joual.

The beleaguered web pioneer has in recent weeks sent letters to prospective buyers who might be interested purchasing the patents, some of which date back 20 years to the company's founding and include its early search technology, the newspaper reported. Preliminary bids are expected next week, according to the report.

"Yahoo is exploring the divestiture of a portfolio of more than 3,000 patents and pending applications covering a wide range of technology, including early-filed inteet search, advertising, and cloud technology," a Yahoo spokeswoman said in a statement confirming the report.

Yahoo was once one of the brightest stars of the inteet. But mismanagement, a failed takeover bid by Microsoft a decade ago and the changing ways of making money on the web have gutted its business.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has been trying for five years to resuscitate the once mighty inteet media and search site. But in February, she unveiled her make or break plan for the company, including cutting 1,700 jobs. She also put out a call to would-be buyers, saying she and Yahoo's board are ready to "engage on qualified strategic proposals."