Yahoo is ready to buy Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell

Internet company Yahoo Inc. — backed by owner Apollo Global Management Inc. — would bid for the Chrome web browser if a federal court orders Google to divest it as a remedy for maintaining an illegal monopoly, a senior executive said.

Brian Provost, the general manager for Yahoo Search, testified Thursday during Google’s trial in Washington that his company estimates the browser would have a sale price in the tens of billions of dollars.

Chrome is “arguably the most important strategic player on the web,” Provost said. “We would be able to…