The Weather Channel and WebMD Health Corp. are among companies Yahoo! Inc. is interested in owning as part of a tax-efficient asset swap with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Softbank Corp., said three people with knowledge of the matter.
Yahoo drafted the wish list of assets, which also includes AutoTrader.com Inc., before appointing former EBay Inc. executive Scott Thompson as its new chief executive officer yesterday, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is private. Thompson might add or change the assets, and a deal may fail to materialize, one person said.