SYDNEY (Reuters) -
Software giant Microsoft Corp dismissed speculation it might still be
interested in a takeover of Internet firm Yahoo Inc.
"We made an offer, we made another offer ... We moved on," Microsoft
Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told a business luncheon in Sydney on
Friday when asked for the firm's plans after a partnership between
Yahoo and Google Inc fell through this week.
"We tried at one point to do a partnership around search ... and
that didn't work either, and we moved on and they moved on. We are not
interested in going back and re-looking at an acquisition. I don't know
why they would be either, frankly," Ballmer said.
He added that he thought there were still opportunities for some kind of partnership around search.
Ballmer's comments came two days after Yahoo's shares surged on a
rumor posted on a blog that said Yahoo and Microsoft were in advanced
talks to sell Yahoo for between $17 and $19 a share. The blog also
reported that Yahoo's chief executive, Jerry Yang, would step down.
Yahoo officials later said the report was untrue.
Microsoft abandoned an unsolicited $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo in
May. The software company had been looking to fill a hole in its
repertoire by acquiring an Internet search engine as it battles with
market leader Google.
In June, Google and Yahoo, Nos. 1 and 2 in the Internet search
market respectively, announced their planned partnership, which Yahoo
had struck as a way of fending off Microsoft.
The two delayed implementation to allow the Justice Department to
review it but Google later said it pulled out of the deal rather than
face a protracted legal fight after regulators had concerns.
Yang told the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday that he
believed a deal between Microsoft and Yahoo was still the best option
for Microsoft.
Yahoo shares ended Thursday at $13.96, far below the $31 a share
Microsoft originally offered, and Yahoo has come under severe criticism
from investors for turning down the offer.
Microsoft posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results last month
and cut its outlook by less than investors had feared amid the economic
slump.
(Editing by Mark Bendeich)
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