Rumor: Yahoo to Acquire The Rubicon Project

Yahoo YHOO is rumored to be interested in acquiring The Rubicon Project, an online advertising technology company. Described as a company that helps publishers maximize their ad revenue through real-time trading technology, The Rubicon Project was founded in 2007. It should not be confused with Rubicon Technology RBCN, which produces materials for LEDs. On its website, The Rubicon Project said that it works primarily with comScore SCOR 500 publishers. Its customers include Disney's DIS ABC, Forbes, Comcast's CMCSA NBCUniversal, Time Warner's TWX Time Inc., The Tribune Company, Virgin Media, News Corp.'s NWS News International, The Times of India and Electronic Arts EA. According to Business Insider, Yahoo would like to add The Rubicon Project to its portfolio. "Yahoo would acquire it and essentially become its sole client," Nicholas Carlson wrote in his report. "Yahoo especially likes the depth of Rubicon's executive bench." There's just one problem: The Rubicon Project has raised more than $50 million from startup investors, all of which expect a massive return (5x to 10x) on their investment. This could make The Rubicon Project one of Yahoo's most expensive acquisitions. Despite Yahoo's troubles, the company has actually been doing quite well this year. Year-to-date the stock has risen nearly 13 percent. The online giant gained more than 22 percent in the last three months alone. While there have been some concerns about Marissa Mayer, the company's newly appointed CEO, investors seem to be confident in her ability to lead the firm. Investors were also impressed with the company's third-quarter results. Yahoo's revenue came in at $1.089 billion, which was on par with the analyst consensus. Earlier this month, Yahoo announced that it had signed a deal with Samsung to bring interactive content to the company's Smart TVs. This is a part of Yahoo's initiative to raise traffic and increase the number of people who consume its content. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ