Microsoft In New Yahoo Talks?

A news story has Microsoft in a complicated transaction that involves buying Yahoo's search business for $20 billion.

Make of it what you will. A story in the Sunday Times has Microsoft involved in a “complex transaction” that would see Redmond’s finest acquire Yahoo’s search business, while they’d also support another team taking over Yahoo – but not take it over themselves. And all for the bargain price of $20 billion.

The newspaper reported that Microsoft and Yahoo had agreed the broad terms of the deal, which would evidently see Jonathan Miller, former chairman and chief executive of AOL, and Ross Levinsohn, who used to be president of Fox Interactive Media, heading up the new Yahoo management team.

With Jerry Yang stepping down as Yahoo’s chief executive, it’s certainly possible, especially as the reports have Microsoft providing $5 billion, and the two executives raising another $5 billion, to buy convertible preference shares in Yahoo, which would give them the right to appoint three Yahoo directors.

As to the search business, Microsoft would have a 10-year agreement to manage Yahoo search, with a two-year call option to purchase it for $20 billion.

However, a lot of sources have questioned this whole tale. CNBC has quoted sources inside the two companies as saying "none of the facts of the story, which broke Saturday evening, are true."

Certainly one thing that must be asked is why Microsoft would pay $20 billion for Yahoo search when the current valuation of the whole company is just $16 billion. But this will be a story that might just run and run.