Shares of business reviews site Yelp Inc YELP surged more than 12 percent on Thursday afternoon, after the Wall Street Journal said sources familiar with the matter have said the company is exploring a sale.
Sources told WSJ that investment bankers are working in conjunction with the Internet company’s management, which has also been contacting potential buyers in the past few weeks.
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“With a market capitalization of $2.9 billion, the company could fetch more than $3.5 billion in a sale,” WSJ said.
However, one of the sources clarified that “a deal isn’t imminent (…) and it’s possible Yelp will decide against a sale.”
Shares of San Francisco-based Yelp were halted after the news broke, but not before spiking 8 percent. When trading resumed, the stock price rose to $43.
Shares traded recently at $43.25, up 13.1 percent.
The news is helping Yelp’s stock recuperate from the steep fall it suffered after the company announced poor first quarter earnings on April 29.
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