Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO)
On July 19, Internet search company Yahoo reported a 11 percent growth in second quarter earnings, but revenue fell 23 percent due to the change in revenue presentation related to the search agreement with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).Adjusted EPS = $0.19; Street estimated = $0.18Revenue excluding Traffic Acquisition Cost = $1.08 billion; Street estimated = $1.11 billion"We experienced softness in display revenue in the second half of the quarter due to comprehensive changes we have made in our sales organization to position ourselves for more rapid display growth in the future," said Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo.Looking ahead, the company provided its revenue outlook for the third quarter, which was lower than the current Street expectations.Revenue excluding TAC = $1.05 billion to $1.10 billion; Street view = $1.12 billionYahoo Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse told Reuters in an interview the changes that Yahoo was making to its North American sales force meant that Yahoo was underequipped to meet demand. "In the second half for the quarter we didn't close out the good, branded advertising revenue like we could have and we should have and we plan," he said.By contrast Morse said that Yahoo was making progress in rectifying some of the problems in its search partnership with Microsoft, which had crimped Yahoo's revenue per search. Reuters

The deadline for initial bids in the auction for Hulu was extended from Wednesday until the end of the week to allow interested parties more time to examine the online video site's financial information, according to people familiar with the situation.

Yahoo , Google Inc , DirecTV and Amazon.com were among the parties preparing to submit an offer for the U.S. online company, the people said. Hulu is jointly owned by News Corp , Walt Disney Co , Comcast Corp's NBC and Providence Equity Partners.

South Korean giant SK Telecom <017670.KS> is also believed to have entered the fray, according to one of the people close to the sale process, though an official bid from the company could not be confirmed.

Hulu's owners hope to fetch at least $2 billion, according to several people close to the sale process who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity as the negotiations are confidential.

Last year, Hulu planned to raise $200 million to $300 million in an initial public offering that would have valued the company at about $2 billion. But it backed out in favor of a focus on new subscription models.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that offers could come in as low as $500 million.

One of the people described the likelihood of such a low bid winning the auction as ridiculous.

Hulu's financial advisers, Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners, have already met with some potential buyers.

Representatives for all the companies mentioned in this article declined to comment.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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