Yahoo Looking at 5to1 Purchase for $25 Million
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.
