WSJ : Yahoo Begins Auction For Portfolio Of About 3,000 Patents

(RTTNews) - Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) has kicked off an auction for a portfolio of about 3,000 patents expected to fetch more than $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The internet company sent letters to a range of potential buyers for the patents, which date back to Yahoo's founding in 1996 and include its original search technology, the journal said.

Yahoo has set a mid-June deadline for preliminary bids, and hired Black Stone IP, a boutique investment bank that specializes in patent sales, to run the auction.

Yahoo is launching the patent sale in the midst of a high-profile auction for its core web business. Verizon Communications Inc., seen as the leading contender, bid about $3 billion for the internet properties before the Monday deadline for second-round bids, the Journal noted.