Microsoft, Yahoo! Resume Talks

Microsoft said Sunday that it is considering doing an unspecified deal with Yahoo!, but it's not seeking another acquisition of the Internet portal--at least for now.

The Redmond software giant has "raised with Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo!," Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft declined to provide details of its proposed deal with the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web portal, but the transaction likely involves Yahoo!'s search advertising business. The deal could be structured two ways: as an acquisition of that business or a partnership in which Yahoo! outsources its search ads to Microsoft. Yahoo! has also been in discussions with Google about such an outsourcing partnership.

Yahoo! said in a statement that it had responded to Microsoft's latest overture by telling the software giant that it's not interested in being acquired at this time, but it's "open to pursuing any transaction which is in the best interest of our stockholders."

When it launched its $40 billion-plus bid for Yahoo! on Jan. 31, Microsoft said it needed to combine forces with the Web portal to become a more significant player in online advertising. Google leads the sector and Yahoo! and Microsoft are distant No. 2 and 3 players, respectively.
Even though Microsoft said Sunday it isn't trying to acquire all of Yahoo!, it noted that it "reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo! or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo! or Microsoft or with third parties."

On May 15, two weeks after Microsoft dropped its bid for Yahoo!, corporate raider Carl Icahn took steps to unseat Yahoo!'s board members in an effort to get Yahoo! and Microsoft back to the negotiating table. Icahn proposed a 10-member proxy board slate that includes himself, billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Frank Biondi, former chief executive of Viacom.

Microsoft's Sunday announcement comes two days before an advertising conference it's hosting in Redmond.

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source:forbes.com