If and when Hulu goes public, Yahoo might be interested in purchasing a significant number of shares, according to an analyst.  What’s more, the company supposedly wouldn’t purchase them as a standard compound-your-worth investment, but instead to really buy into the business.

We’ll note right here: this seems to be one man’s opinion, not any sort of official plan.  Also, it’s of course hard to say when Hulu will hold an IPO and what Yahoo’s financial state will be at that time.

Still, Sarah Rabil reported earlier, "Yahoo . . . would consider acquiring a stake in Hulu to solidify itself as an entertainment destination and a ‘must- buy’ for advertisers, Jordan Rohan, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus in New York, wrote in a note today.  Hulu’s estimated $200 million in revenue this year ‘implies superior monetization’ compared with Google Inc.’s YouTube video site, Rohan wrote."

And that is a fair point.  After all, it’s been five years since Google bought YouTube, and the search giant still hasn’t said that YouTube’s achieved profitability.  Whereas Hulu passed into the black in late 2009 after launching in March of 2008.

Plus, on a more human level, it’s not hard to imagine that Yahoo’s leaders would love one-upping Google in some way.

The situation’s perhaps worth keeping an eye on, then.  Stranger things have happened.