Yahoo Seeking to Sell 3,000 Patents – Report

Struggling Internet company Yahoo is looking into the sale of more than 3,000 patents that do not form a part of its core business, according to a Bloomberg report.

The web firm, which reported a net loss of $99 million for the first three months of this year, is trying to make money from intellectual property in areas including search, advertising and cloud technology.

According to a statement sent to Bloomberg, Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) has ramped up efforts to sell patents that are currently held by its Excalibur unit.

Yahoo is also trying to find a buyer for its core Internet business and was yesterday reported by the Wall Street Journal to have received a $3 billion bid from US telco Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) for this asset. Other interested parties are said to include private equity firm TPG and several investment funds.

As recently as April, Yahoo had been hoping to generate between $4 billion and $8 billion from the sale of its core business, according to WSJ sources. Yahoo's ongoing difficulties are likely to have weakened investors' appetite for a deal.

For more on Yahoo and associated M&A action, see:

— Iain Morris, , News Editor, Light Reading