Yahoo Looking at 5to1 Purchase for $25 Million

May 11, 2011 at 7:50 pm PT

According to sources close to the situation, Yahoo is in advanced talks to buy 5to1, a self-serve premium advertising platform, for $25 million.

The Los Angeles start-up is run by Jim Heckman, a well-known Internet exec.

It also was co-founded and funded by Yahoo Americas head Ross Levinsohn, but he apparently divested himself from 5to1 when he joined Yahoo.

Levinsohn and Heckman worked together at Fox Interactive, a News Corp. unit.

The company had raised about $13 million in venture funding, including from Fuse Capital, which was where Levinsohn worked before coming to Yahoo.

That link is likely to make the deal, which is not yet complete, carefully scrutinized inside and outside Yahoo.

Tagged with: 5to1, advertising, Americas, California, Fox Interactive, funding, Fuse Capital, Jim Heckman, Los Angeles, News Corp., platform, premium, Ross Levinsohn, self-serve, Start-up, venture, Yahoo

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Anonymous

Speculation or not, this is by far a smart chess move by Yahoo, fighting off Google’s attempt to commoditize the publishing business
Anonymous

Does anyone else find it bizarre that Yahoo is buying a failed start up when their own platform is on fire and needs a major overhaul (through acquisition or otherwise)? Another ad media exec uses his big company as a hospice for his sickly start up.