Yahoo's stock price bounced

Pic :Yahoo CEO Jerry yang :: :: Microsoft's Bill Gates

Yahoo's stock price bounced as investors flirted with rumours that Microsoft is once-again courting the floundering Internet pioneer. Neither company would comment on what, if any, talks are under way, but both firms dismissed the notion Microsoft has a renewed interest in taking over Yahoo.

Microsoft said its position has not changed since it released a June 12 statement saying it is "not interested in rebidding for all of Yahoo" but that an "alternative transaction remains available for discussion." The US software giant made the statement in response to Yahoo and Google announcing a deal to put the Internet search king's expertise to work pumping money from advertising posted next to Yahoo online search results.

Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion in stock and cash on January 31, but withdrew the offer on May 3, saying Yahoo refused to budge despite the software giant upping its bid to nearly $50 billion. While searching for a "white knight" to save it from Microsoft's clutches, Yahoo tested using Google's AdSense for Search service for two weeks in April.

The test showed that Google's methods generated more money than Yahoo's advertising platform. Microsoft was enraged by the experiment and warned that a Yahoo-Google partnership raises anti-trust concerns because it would cover some 90 per cent of online advertising.

Analysts believe an alternative deal of interest to Microsoft could involve buying Yahoo's Internet search business and merging it with its own in order to better battle Google in that arena. (AFP)