Yahoo, Microsoft Back At The Table

Microsoft and Yahoo are back at the table, Microsoft says today. In a press statement, the company says:

in light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business. Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo! Microsoft is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo! at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo! or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo! or Microsoft or with other third parties. There of course can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions.

This is clearly in response to Carl Icahn's bid to replace the Yahoo board and bring the company back to the table at Yahoo, and continued speculation that Yahoo may jump into bed with Google on a search deal.

For now, the discussions are centered on "a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo." That could mean a pooling of search assets to block Google, for example. And of course, once they are at the table a full acquisition could still happen. I enjoy the jab at the end of the statement that suggests Microsoft is willing to negotiate with just about anyone who claims to control Yahoo at this point - "discussions that may take place with Yahoo or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo or Microsoft or with other third parties."

We're back in business on this deal, and the recent logo has been shelved for now.

Update: Email from Kevin Johnson to all Microsoft Platform employees:

From: Kevin Johnson

Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 1:30 PM

To: Platforms & Services Division; APSP FTE - Adv & Pub Solutions Platform; Employees.all.corp.adf@main.corp; Employees.all.adf@main.corp

Subject: Online Services Strategy Update

We have been executing against the core strategy I first presented at our Financial Analyst Meeting in July 2007 to go after the growing opportunity in online services and advertising. Four pillars have formed the basis of our strategy:

1. Consolidate ad platform and win in display