The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

You're viewing an article in TMO's historic archive vault. Here, we've preserved the comments and how the site looked along with the article. Use this link to view the article on our current site:
Yahoo! Still Working on AOL Deal

Yahoo! Still Working on AOL Deal

by , 1:05 PM EDT, July 7th, 2008

The Internet search company Yahoo! is still working on putting together a deal that could see it merging with Time Warner's AOL instead of facing a possible buyout from Microsoft. Apparently Yahoo! spent the weekend in discussions with its lead financial advisor, Goldman Sachs, and Time Warner, according to the Times Online.

If the parties could come to an agreement, Time Warner would finally be able to dump its Internet service division, and Yahoo! would potentially be in a stronger position to keep Microsoft at bay.

Yahoo! shot down an unsolicited buyout offer from Microsoft at the beginning of the year. At the time, Yahoo! executives said that Microsoft's offer was too low. The two companies entered into negotiations, but eventually Microsoft walked away after deciding Yahoo! wasn't worth the asking price.

Microsoft was hoping to close a deal with Yahoo! to better position itself as a competitor to Google in the online search advertising market. So far, Google is the market leader with Yahoo coming in second, and Microsoft a distant third.

Microsoft may have walked away from the negotiation table, but that doesn't mean the company is out of the game. The Redmond-based company may be taking with Carl Icahn, the billionaire market player bent on ousting Yahoo!'s board and pushing a Microsoft buyout deal.

If Mr. Icahn is successful in pushing through his proxy take over, he can hand Yahoo! to Microsoft and potentially walk away with a hefty profit from the deal. Should Yahoo! manage to close a deal with Time Warner before its next board meeting, the odds of a deal with Microsoft coming together drop significantly -- and that appears to be just what Yahoo! wants.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Guest
Subject: doomed...

two failing companies merging together. now THAT's a recipe for success!!!

Comment on this Article


You cannot edit your comments.   You cannot delete your comments.

Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.


Recent Headlines - Updated November 21st

Fri, 7:07 PM
Games - Soccer Sim Championship Manager 2010 Released for Mac
6:47 PM
Games - EA Publishes Original Monopoly for iPhone
6:15 PM
News - Original Apple I on Ebay for $50K, w/Letter from Steve Jobs
6:11 PM
Games - New iPhone Games: Secret of the Lost Cavern Ep 1, New DJ Nights, More
5:47 PM
Games - Star Trek D-A-C Game Headed to the Mac Next Month
4:57 PM
Product News - TidBITS Releases “Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard”
4:26 PM
John Martellaro's Blog - Particle Debris (week ending 11/20) Stationery Pads Go Poof
2:59 PM
Free on iTunes - Musée du Louvre, Art Lite, SketchBook Mobile X and More.
1:50 PM
Deal Brothers - Acer P215H bmid 21.5” Widescreen LCD Monitor:  $139.99
11:24 AM
TMO Appearances - Jeff Gamet Shares More Holiday Gift Ideas on MacJury
10:43 AM
Product News - Cocktail 4.5 for Leopard Adds QuickLook Cache Clearing
10:06 AM
News - Hack Enables Mac OS X 10.6.2 on Netbooks

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • __________
  • Buy Stuff, Support TMO!
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!