Jon Swartz

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Verizon, long considered front-runner in the Yahoo asset sweepstakes, is closing in on a deal to take over the troubled Internet pioneer, according to published reports.

The deal, which could come as early as Monday, would conclude a months-long process to find a buyer of Yahoo's core Internet business and end its status as an independent company.

Reports from Bloomberg and The New York Times say the deal would approach $5 billion. Negotiations are in advanced stages, a person with knowledge of the talks told the New York Times. USA TODAY could not immediately confirm the report.

Both Verizon and Yahoo declined to comment.

Verizon, scheduled to report financial results on Tuesday, has been the leading contender for Yahoo in a field of potential suitors that include AT&T, private equity firms and a group led by Quicken Loans co-founder Dan Gilbert, who has the backing of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway.

Each is sniffing around a collection of Yahoo properties — social network Tumblr, news and sports sites, email and search engine — used by hundreds of millions of people each month.

Analysts have viewed Verizon as most likely to acquire Yahoo because it bought AOL which, when combined with Yahoo, presents a more viable third option for digital advertisers after Google and Facebook.

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