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News Corp. Talks Deal With Yahoo

MySpace merger could create new company, deny Microsoft

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 13, 2008 2:36 PM CST
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(Newser) – News Corp. and Yahoo are in talks over combining MySpace and other News Corp. entities with Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reports today. The deal, which could fend off Microsoft's $44.6 billion hostile takeover bid, would allow Yahoo to remain independent while giving the Murdoch-run company a stake of roughly 20%. An acquisition by Microsoft still seems the most likely outcome, but Yahoo is scrambling for other options.

News Corp. and Yahoo have discussed a deal in the past, but have never agreed on MySpace’s value—which the Murdoch-ites place between $6 billion and $10 billion. The pact currently on the table would include a major cash infusion for Yahoo. Rupert Murdoch coyly left the door open to a deal on a recent earnings call: “I think that day has passed but you never know.”

This combination of two file photos shows Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, left, and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang. Yahoo Inc. on Monday, Feb. 11, 2008 spurned Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid as inadequate, betting that it can elicit a higher offer from the world's largest software maker or...
This combination of two file photos shows Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, left, and Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang. Yahoo Inc. on Monday, Feb. 11, 2008 spurned Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid as inadequate,...   (Associated Press)
Chinese subway riders walk past a Yahoo advertisement at a metro station in Beijing, in this March 12, 2006 file photo. Yahoo Inc.'s rejection of Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid left investors guessing the next move in a tense mating dance that may hatch a more imposing challenger...
Chinese subway riders walk past a Yahoo advertisement at a metro station in Beijing, in this March 12, 2006 file photo. Yahoo Inc.'s rejection of Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid left investors...   (Associated Press)
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch smiles in San Francisco in this Oct. 17, 2007 file photo. News Corp., the global media company run by Rupert Murdoch, said Monday, Jan. 7, 2008, it bought a nearly 15-percent stake in Premiere AG, Germany's biggest pay television operator. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch smiles in San Francisco in this Oct. 17, 2007 file photo. News Corp., the global media company run by Rupert Murdoch, said Monday, Jan. 7, 2008, it bought a nearly...   (Associated Press)
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Yahoo • Microsoft • Rupert Murdoch • MySpace • mergers and acquisitions • News Corp

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