Murdoch Papers Spar Over Yahoo Buyout

Just because the New York Post is now borrowing copy directly from The Wall Street Journal doesn't mean the tabloid can't pour water on its sister paper's reporting when it sees fit.

Yesterday, the Journal sent markets scurrying with this online bulletin:

Former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is talking to investors about raising money to purchase all or part of Yahoo Inc., a long-shot deal that signals that investors' interest in the troubled Internet property has yet to subside....Mr. Miller believes he can fashion a deal that would be worth about $20 to $22 a share to Yahoo shareholders, these people say, which would involve raising about $28 billion to $30 billion.

The full report appears in today's print edition of the Journal. Meanwhile, over in the Post, we get this:

Former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is indeed trying to raise money -- just not for an acquisition of Yahoo!, as a report yesterday implied. Rather, two sources close to Miller said he has been talking with private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds about raising capital for Velocity Interactive Group, the investment firm he runs along with former Fox Interactive Media boss Ross Levinsohn.

That leaves it to The New York Times to play mediator:

People in private equity circles said Mr. Miller had discussed possible options for Yahoo on and off since he left AOL two years ago.... But they also said that a private buyout of Yahoo was highly unlikely, given the daunting environment for deal-making and the amount of debt that such a large deal would require.