Disney Almost Bought Yahoo At The Height Of The Dot-Com Bubble

Back in 2001, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was the second-most popular name on the Internet after AOL and even attracted the interest of Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS).

According to the Los Angeles Times, Yahoo was a likely takeover target at the start of the new century in a "race among AOL's rivals for global equality in cyberspace." The publication added that an acquisition of Yahoo by Disney would represent a "perfect fit."

Disney would gain "credibility" on the Internet, which at that time was "poised to become the pipeline of choice" for music, movies, news and other content.

Related Link: Remember When Yahoo Turned Down $1 Million To Buy Google?

However, Wall Street analysts at the time suggested Yahoo would be acquired by a competitor, such as Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB).

Viacom also passed on the opportunity to acquire Yahoo but was active in the M&A space and bought Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Video, CBS, Infinity Broadcasting and BET Holdings.

CNBC's David Faber even wrote in his book, "The Faber Report: How Wall Street Really Works - And How You Can Make It work For You," that he was "picking up strong hints" that Disney was working on a deal to acquire Yahoo.

So why didn't a deal transpire? The LATimes opined that Disney's ex-CEO Michael Eisner "does not have deal-making in his blood" given his track record of growing the Disney brand internally.