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Viacom disses Yahoo! buy
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May 3, 2001: 4:10 p.m. ET
Disney CEO Eisner remains mum on Yahoo! rumors, Viacom says "no"
By Staff Writer Luisa Beltran
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Viacom Inc. made it clear Thursday that it is not interested in acquiring the troubled Internet media company Yahoo! Inc.
"The Internet is a powerful way to make lots of money," Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone told analysts at a media conference in New York. "But we are not going to buy Yahoo!."
Yahoo's recent troubles have made it the source of much takeover speculation. A link with the New York-based Viacom, which owns MTV, Paramount Pictures, BET and the UPN television network, had been rumored.
Yahoo! (YHOO: down $2.09 to $20.83, Research, Estimates) shares have fallen more than 91 percent from a high of $237.50 reached in January 2000. Profit and revenue have dropped as a result of the dot.com bust. In April, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Yahoo replaced CEO Tom Koogle with former Warner Bros. chief Terry Semel. The former Internet darling also announced that it would be cutting 12 percent of its staff.
The Walt Disney Co. has also been rumored a likely acquirer of Yahoo!. Disney breezed past Wall street earnings expectations in April but cut 4,000 jobs in March. Disney (DIS: down $0.29 to $30.96, Research, Estimates) is also rumored to be considering additional reductions cuts at its animation unit.
When pressed to speak on a possible Yahoo! acquisition, Disney Chief Michael Eisner remained mum.
"You know we can't comment," Eisner told CNNfn.com. "You already have Redstone on the record." 
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