Yahoo said to be keen on Weather Channel, WebMD

Yahoo Inc. has drafted a wish list of assets that include The Weather Channel and WebMD Health Corp. as part of a tax-efficient asset swap with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Softbank Corp., Bloomberg News reported Thursday citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

The wish list, which also includes AutoTrader.com Inc., was written before Scott Thompson was appointed as its new chief executive officer on Wednesday, the people told Bloomberg. Thompson might make changes to the list and a deal might not materialize, Bloomberg reported one person as saying.

Yahoo declined to comment in an emailed statement, as did spokeswomen for the Weather Channel and AutoTrader.com. A WebMD spokeswoman didn't immediately return calls, Bloomberg said.

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