SAN FRANCISCO, 3 May. (Reuters) -
Yahoo Inc has given up on acquiring a majority stake in online video site Dailymotion over objections from the French government, according to news reports, abandoning what may have been its biggest purchase since Marissa Mayer became chief executive.
Yahoo had been in talks to acquire a 75 percent stake in Dailymotion, owned by telecom group France-Telecom Orange, in a deal that had valued the video website at $300 million (227 million euros).
But French government officials expressed concerns that the country could lose control over one of its biggest online successes with such an operation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
French officials and France Telecom executives sought to reach a deal whereby Yahoo would take a 50 percent stake in the company, but Yahoo refused, the Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.
Yahoo and Dailymotion declined to comment on the matter.
Dailymotion is among the most popular video websites, though it separates it a considerable distance from the leader YouTube, Google Inc.
France Telecom-Orange bought Dailymotion for $170 million in a two-stage deal, most recently closed in January. The editorial and management management of Dailymotion operates independently of France Telecom-Orange.
