Yahoo may reignite talks with AOL

Sep 26, 2008 9:23 AM
Filed under Finance

The new board at Yahoo, which includes billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is to reopen talks with Time Warner about AOL, according to reports.

The talks could be an important step in the companies' plans for a potential tie up.

A story in the Financial Times this week cited inside sources as revealing that the Yahoo board has approved a fresh round of talks with Time Warner.

Initial talks last year stalled, but apparently Yahoo is still keen on a deal in order to improve its standing in the industry. Talks began when Microsoft made a hostile bid of £23bn for Yahoo.

Icahn has been a staunch advocate of some kind of deal, and had pushed the Yahoo board to accept a deal with Microsoft. The FT added that no discussions are currently underway.

In related news, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) has released a white paper (PDF) in which it says that it would view the proposed Google/Yahoo online advertising agreement as anti-competitive because it may spell the end of an independent Yahoo.

Norman Hawker, a senior fellow at the AAI, asked for assurance that 'the transaction would not become a black hole that swallows up Yahoo, despite Yahoo's intention to stay in business'.

To prevent this, Hawker urged the government and regulators to seriously consider how to enforce requirements that 'will ensure that Yahoo has an incentive to continue to develop'.