Yahoo auctioning off its 3,000 patents worth $1bn

The Yahoo logo is shown at the company's headquarters in Sunnyvale. Image Credit: technobuffalo The Yahoo logo is shown at the company's headquarters in Sunnyvale. Image Credit: technobuffalo
<center>The Yahoo logo is shown at the company's headquarters in Sunnyvale. Image Credit: technobuffalo</center>

New reports coming in indicate that Tech Giant Yahoo is auctioning off about 3,000 patents and has hired boutique investment bank Black Stone, to oversee the sale.

The report said that the internet company had sent a letter to a range of potential buyers for the patents, which date back to Yahoo’s initial public offering in 1996 and include its original search technology.

A mid-June deadline for preliminary bids has been set.

Plenty of speculation has been surrounding Yahoo over the past year with reports that Microsoft has had preliminary talks with private equity companies interested in acquiring Yahoo’s core businesses.

The company which which reported a quarterly loss of $99m in April, has also reportedly been in talks with Twitter.