Verizon executives have once again denied rumors that the telecommunications giant is in the running to bid on Yahoo’s core business.
This time the comments came from Verizon’s director of corporate communications Bob Varettoni, who told CTFN the bid rumors are “false.”
Varettoni’s comments come in the wake of a Saturday New York Post article that stated Verizon has already made an $8 billion bid for the internet company.
Varettoni’s attempt to squash the Yahoo acquisition rumors is consistent with comments made by Verizon CFO Fran Shammo in December. At the time, Shammo said it was “premature” to say that the carrier was even considering a bid.
According to Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner, Verizon is likely telling the truth when it says it isn’t planning a Yahoo bid. The business, he said, would only bring issues without real value.
“Why would anybody want to buy Yahoo?” Entner said. “That thing is a train wreck. When you subtract out all the holdings of Alibaba and Yahoo Japan and all of these things, the only thing you have left are problems.”
With recent reports that Verizon is considering the sale of its data centers, Entner said it is more likely that Verizon is looking to shed weight than put it on.
Entner also said Verizon may take some time this year to figure out what to do with its existing assets – like its recent purchases, AOL and Millennial Media – before it undertakes another big spend.
“They still haven’t fully figured out what to do with the stuff they bought,” Entner said. “If you look at the AOL properties, nothing has really been done there.”
Entner on Thursday also addressed the New York Post’s speculation that AT&T is looking to buy Time Warner, stating that such a transaction would be “difficult” so soon after the company’s purchase of DirecTV.
Though AT&T has hinted that more content deals are in the works for new integrated video offerings, Entner pointed to AT&T’s comments that it will focus on paying down its debt in 2016 as evidence against a major purchase.