Yahoo, AOL Close In on Tie-Up Deal

[cal04]

MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, KEVIN DELANEY and MERISSA MARR
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120776803032602423.html

Yahoo Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL are closing in on a deal to combine their Internet operations, a move that could thwart Microsoft Corp.'s effort to acquire Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The possible Yahoo-AOL tie-up is part of a threefold plan by Yahoo to present shareholders with an alternative to Microsoft's unsolicited offer. Yahoo would also propose repurchasing billions of dollars of its own shares and is negotiating with Google Inc. about an advertising tie-up. On Wednesday, Yahoo announced a short-term test under which it will carry search advertising from Google.


At the least, Yahoo's plan may give it more leverage to negotiate a higher price from Microsoft. However, Yahoo might have difficulty convincing its shareholders that a Yahoo-AOL combination is attractive. Microsoft has threatened to take its offer directly to shareholders via a proxy fight.

If consummated, the Yahoo-AOL discussions would unite two of the Internet's largest Web sites. One person involved in the discussions cautioned that there was still "a lot of work to do" before a final agreement between AOL and Yahoo. Yet there is also incentive for Time Warner to complete a deal. It has been struggling to find a viable strategy for AOL for years. AOL has lost most of its value since it combined with Time Warner in 2000.

[physioex]

1. Hilarious....

Two lousy companies with medicore products combine. Anyone care to guess the outcome? :rofl:

[samsingh]

2. it would benefit them both

my has AOL fallen

[apocalypsehow]

4. Yeah, I remember when EVERYONE was on America Online, in their chat rooms, all that jazz.

Now talk about being "on" AOL and people point and laugh.

[samsingh]

6. seems so long ago - but AOL's market cap was more than

time warner

[apocalypsehow]

3. I keep my AOL account open because I've had it since 1997 (man time flies!), and about a gazillion

people have it as the only contact address for me. It's free now, of course, and worth everything I pay for it.... :eyes:

[cal04]

5. Microsoft Said to Be Talking With News Corporation About Joint Yahoo Bid

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/technology/10google.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft’s MSN and News Corporation’s MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape.

The talks are a surprising twist in the two-month-long takeover story that began when Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo.

Yahoo has resisted Microsoft’s overtures, contending that it will not negotiate unless Microsoft raises its offer.

Yahoo, which wants to remain independent, has been in a desperate search for white knights, holding conversations with Time Warner’s AOL and News Corporation.