News Corp. Won't Fight Microsoft For Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc.'s (YHOO) alternatives in trying to thwart Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) $42 billion takeover bid, which have always been limited, just became even slimmer. News Corp. (NWS) head Rupert Murdoch told investors at the Bear Stearns media conference on Monday that the media giant won't "get into a fight" with Microsoft for Yahoo!. There have been unconfirmed reports that News Corp. and Yahoo! were discussing some kind of a combination, with News Corp.'s MySpace joining Yahoo! in exchange for a minority stake in the merged company..

With no other deals in sight, Yahoo!'s hopes for escaping Microsoft's clutches, or even prying loose a few more buck per share, now may ride on Yahoo! being able to strike some sort of deal with Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) AOL unit, which also remains a long-shot. - David Shabelman

See Feb. 1 story from Tech Confidential
See March 7 post from Tech Confidential
See March 10 story from Reuters
See March 10 post from ClickZ