New York (NY) – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reignited speculation about a possible acquisition of Yahoo’s search business. At a conference yesterday, Ballmer said that “that a deal would help improve Microsoft’s Web search business by expanding the base of users.” Is there a Live Yahoo in our future?
Both Reuters and the Associated Press are reporting that Microsoft is still publicly signaling an interest in Yahoo, as Ballmer noted that there is something “fairly compelling economically” about doing a search deal with Yahoo and that there will be a “fair opportunity” for a search deal with Yahoo. However, he also said that he’s had only one conversation with Yahoo’s new CEO Carol Bartz, congratulating her on her new position.
Microsoft’s main interest in Yahoo seems to be the additional search engine user base as well as a greater opportunity to sell targeted advertising as an additional continuous stream of revenue.
There have been persistent rumors about possible talks between Microsoft and Yahoo over the past months. Most recently, analysts suggested that Microsoft’s upcoming Kumo search engine could integrate technology from Yahoo.
