Yahoo-Microsoft near to online advertising deal
Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc are close to a long-discussed search and online advertising deal, which could be announced in the next week. A large group of Microsoft executives, including search head Satya Nadella and top digital exec Qi Lu, a former Yahoo exec, are in Silicon Valley to complete the deal, according to the AllThingsDigital blog.
Terms were uncertain, but the companies in the past have explored arrangements that would see Microsoft acquire Yahoo’s search advertising business for a combination of upfront cash and ongoing payments.
Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz said in May that any deal to spin off or combine its search assets will require a partner with “boatloads of money.” She said at the time that Yahoo was talking “a little bit” with Microsoft, but gave no details.
Microsoft withdrew its $47.5 billion offer to buy Yahoo in May 2008 after Yahoo’s board said the price was too low. The software giant then offered to buy Yahoo’s search advertising assets for $1 billion upfront, and guarantee $2.3 billion in annual revenue for five years.
Yahoo earlier this month rolled out a new search engine tool that, like Bing, is designed to deliver a search experience that goes beyond simple query results and paid listings.
Yahoo’s new Search Pad feature, still in beta testing, gives users a platform on which they can create notes based on their search results, share the information with friends, family, or business associates, and save the results for future use.
Shares of Yahoo rose 4.01 percent to $16.82 in mid-day Nasdaq trading.
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