Yahoo CEO Yang Open to Microsoft Deal

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang says he thinks Yahoo - and Microsoft's - best option is for Redmond to acquire the struggled Internet giant.

Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco the day Google announced it was pulling out of a proposed search advertising partnership, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang says his company still wants to do a deal with Microsoft, and even went so far as to say that the best thing for Microsoft to do would be do buy Yahoo. But any offer Microsoft makes for the company now would be well below the $31 per share it offered back in February 2008…and Yang insists and sale of Yahoo will only happen at the right price.

At the same time, Yang noted that there are currently no new talks between Yahoo and Microsoft, whether in regard to selling all of Yahoo or just spinning off its search business. Yahoo shares surged yesterday on a rumor reporting Yahoo and Microsoft were already in advanced negotiations; Yahoo quickly denied the claims.

Yang declined to comment on reports that Yahoo is in serious discussions with Time Warner regarding an acquisition of the company’s AOL online unit. Numerous sources and press reports, however, indicate discussions are still ongoing between the two companies.