Yahoo Shares Jump On Report Linking Warren Buffett To Takeover Bid

Shares in Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) climbed nearly 1.5 percent in after-hours trading Friday after Reuters reported that billionaire investor Warren Buffett is backing a bid to take over the internet company, CNBC tweeted.

Earlier Friday, Reuters reported that Buffett is backing a group that includes Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and others in their effort to take control of Yahoo. The Reuters story cited information from several unnamed sources.

The Reuters story said Buffett declined to comment, and that a Quicken Loans spokeswoman also declined to comment. It added that Yahoo officials were not immediately available.

In late April, International Business Times reported that Yahoo saw losses from its operations in the first three months of the year, linked largely to a decline in web-based ad revenue. The company began a round of layoffs in February.

Also in late April, the company bowed to demands from Starboard Value, which owns less than 1 percent of Yahoo stock, to give the hedge fund four seats on the company’s 11-member board, IBT reported.