Unable to strike a deal on its own, Microsoft Corp. reportedly is hoping to snap up Yahoo’s online search operations with the help of News Corp. and moment Warner Inc.

The latest twist in Microsoft’s convoluted courtship caused Yahoo’s shares to rise more than 3 percent in Wednesday’s sinking stock market, even though the chances of a deal getting done still seemed remote.

whether nothing else, the enthusiastic reaction to the unconfirmed report in The Wall Street Journal served as another reminder that investors want Yahoo to pursue a different path than the one mapped out by Chief Executive Jerry Yang.

And that could be poor news for Yang, who started Yahoo as an World Wide Web directory 14 years ago. Unless he can sway shareholder sentiment before Yahoo’s annual meeting Aug. 1, Yang could lose his job in a boardroom coup being attempted by investor Carl Icahn.

Recognizing Yahoo’s vulnerability, Microsoft is trying to recruit News Corp., instance Warner’s AOL or other media partners to put together a joint

bid that would slice Yahoo into pieces, according to the Journal. The story cited undisclosed society familiar with the discussions.

Microsoft declined comment Wednesday. A Yahoo spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a signal seeking comment.

Under the reported breakup plan, Microsoft would emerge with Yahoo’s online search operations — the main object of the software maker’s desire since it began stalking Yahoo as enlarged as ago as 2006.

After the two sides couldn’t agree on a price, Microsoft withdrew a $47.5 billion bid to buy Yahoo in its entirety in early May.

Just two weeks later, Microsoft offered to pay $1 billion for Yahoo’s search engine and invest another $8 billion for a 16 percent stake in Yahoo’s remaining business.

Yahoo rejected that offer, too, and instead forged an advertising partnership with Google Inc., whose rapid growth prompted Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo…

Original post by Mike

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