Yahoo in "Advanced" Talks to Buy MLG - Report

[UPDATE] A source familiar with the matter informs GameSpot that reports about Yahoo buying MLG are "not true," though they did confirm that MLG and Yahoo held some discussions. These talks are no longer progressing, the source said. We'll have more on this story as it becomes available.

The original story is below.

According to a new report, Internet company Yahoo is in "advanced" talks to buy Major League Gaming, one of the most prominent competitive gaming companies in the world. Sources tell Breitbart that discussions between the two companies are "about 95 percent" complete, though there was no sale price cited.

"The talks are quite advanced and are about 95 percent complete," an unspecified source said. "MLG have already been making plans for the future, especially in regards to CS:GO. The deal should be wrapped up before 2016."

MLG was founded in 2002. It originally hosted Call of Duty and Halo events before branching out to PC games like World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, League of Legends, and Dota 2. The company is now building a 15,000-seat stadium on Hengqin Island, which is off the coast of popular gambling hot-spot Macau.

Breitbart points out that the company so far has existed solely on $69 million in venture capital funding that it received in 2006 from Oak Investment Partners. MLG president and co-founder Mike Sepso said in a New York Times feature that 2013 would be "the first full year that we'll be profitable."

The site's sources also reveal that Sepso will leave MLG when the deal goes through, joining Activision. There, he'll reportedly take on a "senior role" within Activision's Call of Duty division.

A representative for MLG told GameSpot, "MLG doesn't comment on rumors or speculation." Meanwhile, a Yahoo representative told GameSpot that the company also does not comment on rumors and speculation.

Yahoo's reported move into the esports space comes as other mainstream media and entertainment companies like ESPN and TBS are also ramping up their competitive gaming coverage. In addition, Google recently launched a new YouTube Gaming channel, while Amazon bought Twitch in 2014 for $1 billion.