Being pursued by Microsoft hasn’t deterred Yahoo from its own pursuits of smaller fry.
Yahoo announced yesterday that it had paid $160 million for Maven Networks, a firm that sells video-management systems for online advertising. Maven’s customers include such major media outfits as Gannett, Scripps and Fox News.
Hint: Click in map to explore connectionsStory continues below interactive map 
(requires Java)
Maven’s leadership is also high-powered. The company was founded in 2002 by Hilmi Ozguc, former CEO of Narrative Communications, which was sold to @Home in 1999.
The current board includes venture capitalists Jim Breyer and Woody Benson, as well as Akamai chief Paul Sagan and Adesso Systems Chairman John Landry.
The connections are intriguing, particularly with Breyer, who is a managing partner at Accel.
Breyer is a director of both Facebook, which is partly owned by Microsoft, and RealNetworks, whose founder Rob Glaser is a former Microsoft VP.
He is also a director of Wal-Mart. One of his fellow board members is James Cash, who sits on the Microsoft board.
Microsoft is apt to use indirect and direct communication lines to achieve a takeover of Yahoo. It issued a press release on Monday, expressing disappointment over the Yahoo board’s rejection of its buyout offer and pledging to “pursue all necessary steps” to complete the deal.
Click here to sign up for the Muckety Newsletter
0 Comments
There are no comments yet, be the first by filling in the form below.
Leave a Comment