After reports swirled last week that Verizon might be in the mood to go shopping in the Internet company aisle, the company’s chief financial officer says it could possibly be interested in buying Yahoo’s web business — if Yahoo is selling and if a deal made sense.

Verizon would look into buying Yahoo’s web business if it made sense for the company, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said at an investor conference reported by Bloomberg. But nothing can happen until Yahoo decides what it wants to do about its web businesses and stake in Alibaba Group.

“If we see there is a strategic fit and it makes sense for our shareholders and we can return value, I mean we’ll look at it, but at this point it’s way too premature to talk about that one,” Shammo said at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference.

Verizon already owns AOL, which it snapped up earlier this year for $4.4 billion in an effort to shore up its mobile video advertising efforts. Yahoo could present a tantalizing prospect as well, what with its online sports sites, financial and general news and advertising technology.

“All I can say is we don’t know what Yahoo’s board will decide. It’s too early to know,” Shammo said in an interview with Bloomberg after his presentation, taking the “whatever you say, say nothing” approach to rumor-handling.

Other potential buyers that have been mentioned for at least some portion of Yahoo’s remains could include Comcast, the Walt Disney Company, or AT&T.

Verizon Would Explore Yahoo Deal If It Made Sense, CFO Says [Bloomberg]

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