Yahoo talks to Murdoch to fend off MS bid

Can Yahoo turn things around and stay out of Microsoft's sights?

When Yahoo rebuffed the Microsoft bid earlier this week, the decision was met with stiff resistance from both internal and external forces.

Not only did some of the shareholders start an impromptu revolt telling Microsoft they would gladly sell off shares, Microsoft itself said it would follow any and all means at its disposal to get the deal done. Now, in a moment of desperation, Yahoo is trying to fend off both forces by appealing to News Corp.

According to reports, Yahoo's CEO Jerry Yang and News Corp's CEO Rupert Murdoch have been in talks to devise a deal that would please shareholders on both sides, as well as stave off any advances from Microsoft.

But Microsoft could be planning to offer a new deal and, if it does, shareholders may be even more likely to revolt.

Unexpected match

Unfortunately, the source who revealed the meeting could not divulge any further information. That said, a marriage between News Corp and Yahoo would be a surprise to say the least; News Corp is probably best known in tech circles as the parent company of MySpace.

Regardless, Yahoo is doing all it can to turn the company over to a more suitable partner. And although News Corp has no experience in the search business or online advertising, it looks like any company is better than Microsoft at this point.