June 9, 2016
By Wire Reports
More than 3,000 patents that have already been issued or are under approval review are on the sales block.
The Sunnyvale, California, company says it hasn’t set a minimum bid for the patent portfolio that it calls “Excalibur.” Analysts have estimated that Yahoo Inc.’s patents are worth more than $1 billion.
Yahoo says it intends to retain more than 2,000 other patents that have been issued or awaiting approval in the U.S. and abroad.
The patent auction comes at the same time that Yahoo is weighing offers for Internet operations that include its email service and digital sports, finance and news sections.
A report published earlier this week by The Wall Street Journal said Verizon Communications has offered $3 billion for Yahoo’s Internet operations, below the $4.4 billion that it paid to acquire AOL last year. The report, which cited an unidentified person familiar with the negotiations, said Verizon isn’t interested in owning Yahoo’s real estate or patents....
