Yahoo! may be set to restart merger talks with AOL as a way of escaping a hostile takeover bid from Microsoft, it has been reported.According to the Times newspaper, the search engine provider - along with a team of advisors from Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs - has spent the past week looking at possible agreements with firms to thwart Microsoft's plans.
Microsoft recently announced its intention to acquire all of Yahoo!'s outstanding shares for a total of $44.6 billion.
Yahoo! and AOL had been involved in merger discussions previously, but they failed to reach a deal because of disagreements over a price.
The unwanted advances currently being made by Microsoft, however, may encourage the two firms to enter into new talks, the Times has learned.
According to the publication, co-founder of Yahoo! Jerry Yang will today inform Wall Street that the company's board has rejected Microsoft's bid and will not consider entering into discussions until the software and internet giant raises its bid by at least $12 billion.
A source close to Yahoo! told the Times: "All [Microsoft is] trying to do is pick off the company on the cheap. [It is] trying to steal it. And the board is not going to let that happen. [It has] gone for a valuation that reflects the five-year low of the stock."
Any successful offer would have to be one that "would give Jerry Yang something to stand on a podium and smile about", the source added.
