Yahoo is in the midst of finalizing the sale of its core internet business. It’s expected that Verizon is going to bid some $3 billion for the business during the second round of bidding. A new report sheds light on the fact that in addition to this sale Yahoo is also going to part with at least 3,000 patents that it owns, patents going all the way back to 1996.
These patents protect Yahoo inventions in ad-matching, e-commerce, and online advertising, among other things. This lot of 3,000 even includes the core patents from Yahoo’s original search technology.
The Wall Street Journal reports that these patents are likely to bring in as much a $1 billion for the ailing company. Yahoo has started sending letters to private equity firms, tech companies, and other firms that are interested in intellectual property, informing them that some of its most valuable patents are now up for grabs. Interested parties can send their preliminary bids throughout this month.
“This represents a unique opportunity for companies operating in the internet industry to acquire some of the most pioneering and foundational patents related to web search and advertising,” said a spokeswoman for Yahoo, confirming that the patents are being sold.
The company that ends up buying its core internet business won’t get these 3,000 patents as they’re not grouped with that sale, but the buyer will get around 500 U.S. patents and an additional 600 patent applications that are part of the core business sale.