Microsoft has held discussions with companies including News Corporation and Time Warner about a joint deal to buy and split Yahoo, according to a US media report. Under the new deal Microsoft would take Yahoo's search business while another partner, such as News Corporation's MySpace or Time Warner's AOL, would inherit the rest of the internet company's operations. According to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, two weeks ago, the Microsoft chief executive, Steve Ballmer, called the Yahoo chairman, Roy Bostock, suggesting a meeting to discuss a new plan involving other partners. However, the meeting, scheduled for Monday, did not happen, indicating that Microsoft's attempts to bring partners on board did not work out. The WSJ cited "people familiar with these talks" who believed that a new joint deal with Yahoo was unlikely to be tabled. Microsoft walked away from attempting to takeover Yahoo outright in May after the rejection of an improved $47.5bn (£23.8bn) offer. Last month, Kevin Johnson, the president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, revealed that Yahoo had also turned down an alternative deal of an $8bn investment for a 16% stake and $1bn to purchase its search operation. Dissident investor Carl Icahn has been piling pressure on Yahoo's senior management to strike a deal with Microsoft. On August 1, the company will hold a vote on whether to accept a new slate of directors proposed by Icahn. The WSJ rep ...
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