Yahoo tables $800m offer for Hulu
Yahoo is said to be back on the acquisition trail with a bid of up to $800m (£530m) for online video service Hulu building on last week’s purchase of Tumblr for $1.1bn (£723m) .
The online services giant has already bid in the range of $600m (£397m) to $800m (£530m) for Hulu according to several reports, which cite numerous sources close to negotiations, which additionally claim Yahoo is also considering further purchases anywhere up to $200m (£132m).
Yahoo is aiming to shore-up its online video offering as this channel becomes increasingly attractive to brands looking to gain exposure to digital audiences and recently had a bid to purchase a $200m (£132m) stake in French video site DailyMotion scuppered by regulators there.
Hulu, a joint venture company between Comcast, Disney and News Corp, offers consumers both an ad-funded plus subscription video-on-demand service in the US, and in the first quarter of this year topped 4 million paid-for subscribers.
Neither party has yet to officially comment on the reports but they do come just a week after Yahoo confirmed earlier speculation over its purchase of online blogging site Tumblr.
The Tumblr purchase was seen as a bid to bolster Yahoo’s appeal to younger audiences with its CEO Marissa Mayer vowing “not to screw it up”, as she aims to return the online services giant to its former glory.
The purchase comes as Mayer nears her first full year in office after joining from Google in July 2012.
This period has seen her make numerous changes, including a major emphasis on its mobile offering, including the £30m purchase of mobile news services Summly – an UK headed-up by teenager Nick D’Aloisio.
