Posted 07/19/09 at 01:58:10 PM by Justin Kerr

Rumors that Microsoft and Yahoo were back at the negotiation table have been floating around since April, but nobody held out much hope that a deal would ever be reached. After enduring nearly a year of roller coaster negotiations, even we started to lose interest in the back and forth chest thumping between the two tech giants.

When the acquisition deal fell through last November Microsoft stockholders let out a collective sigh of relief, while Yahoo shareholders watched their fortunes fade rather quickly. Now that the reality of the situation has finally sunk in, it would seem even Carl Icahn is eager to make a deal with Microsoft. This time however, only the search engine is on the table. "I've been a strong advocate of getting a search deal done with Microsoft," Icahn, who owns about 5 percent of Yahoo and sits on its board, told Reuters in a phone interview Friday. "It would enhance value if a deal got done, because of the synergies involved."

The deal is said to be “Down to the short Strokes” and According to a separate posting made by All Things Digital, several key Microsoft online executives are in Silicon Valley attempting to iron out the details. Microsoft is likely hoping the deal will allow them to tap into Yahoo’s lucrative search advertising network, but with all the recent success Bing has enjoyed recently, do you think they would phase out Yahoo search as a brand?

Hit the jump and let us know what you think. 

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Posted 07/31/08 at 12:23:30 PM by Paul Lilly

Tired of all the drama surrounding the future of Yahoo? You're not the only one. Not a week goes by without a new twist emerging in what's to become of the would-be search giant, and billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens has had enough. Aside from having one of the coolest names ever, Pickens also owned 10 million Yahoo shares, all of which he sold at a loss.

Pickens picked up the stock back in May in anticipation that activist Carl Icahn would wage a proxy contest to force Yahoo's board into signing on the dotted line with Microsoft. Tired of waiting, Pickens unloaded all his shares, but not without taking a parting short at Yahoo management.

"I think that Yahoo management was pathetic," Pickens told the San Francisco Chronicle.

It's unclear exactly how much money Pickens lost in the ordeal, but Yahoo stock was selling around $27 per share in late May and has since dropped to around $20 per share. Talk about a costly way to make a point.

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Posted 07/18/08 at 07:56:59 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Yahoo’s CEO Jerry Yang has scored a major victory against corporate raider Carl Icahn ahead of the crucial board election on August 1. Legg Mason’s Bill Miller, who owns a 4.4% stake in the internet company, has vowed his allegiance to Jerry Yang and the current board. Bill Miller’s support is being inferred as a fatal blow for Icahn’s Microsoft-backed proxy war as analysts don’t expect any institutional investors – that hold a stake in Yahoo – to back the boardroom coup.

The only glimmer of hope for Icahn is Gordon Crawford, who controls a substantial 6.5% stake. Gordon has hinted that he can align with Icahn but remains undecided. Yang wants to leave nothing to chance and wants to finalize a deal with AOL before the upcoming board elections, however, the chances of the deal going through ere Aug 1 remain slim.

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Posted 06/19/08 at 02:56:51 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Ace corporate raider Carl Icahn - who has been vigorously pressing upon Yahoo’s board for a deal with Microsoft - has launched his blog The Icahn Report. He might use his blog to announce his course of action in the Microsoft-Yahoo takeover saga.

Although his blog doesn't currently feature anything regarding his on-going proxy battle with Yahoo, it does have fervid posts like "Corporate Democracy is a Myth" with Carl Icahn stamped all over them. Only time - and perhaps his blog - will tell whether he still favors a deal with Microsoft or is statisfied with the recent deal between Yahoo and Google.

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