News Corp still open to joint Yahoo bid
Reuters
Published: 22 Apr 2008 08:59 BST
News Corp's Rupert Murdoch left the door open on Monday to a joint bid with Microsoft to buy Yahoo, a day ahead of Yahoo's quarterly financial report.
In response to a reporter's question about his interest in pursuing a bid with Microsoft for Yahoo, he said: "Depends on the deal."
Murdoch also repeated earlier remarks about not having the financial firepower to top Microsoft's bid. "I certainly can't afford to bid against Microsoft [for Yahoo]," he told attendees at a speech he gave at the Atlantic Council, an international affairs group.
The 77-year-old media mogul said Google is gaining influence in the advertising world. "Is Google really going to get control of the advertising world, and should Microsoft be supported in their attempt to try and stop that?" he asked.
Yahoo is expected to report its first-quarter results on Tuesday. Strong results could force Microsoft to raise its estimated $43bn (£22bn) offer, some analysts have said.
Separately, sources have said Yahoo is pursuing a deal to merge with Time Warner's AOL. Yahoo is also set to complete tests this week with Google on whether Google should run part of Yahoo's web-search ad sales.
Yahoo faces a Saturday deadline to respond to Microsoft's offer, after which Microsoft has said it will launch a proxy battle to unseat Yahoo's board.
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