A report by Reuters has suggested that earlier reports of a $20 billion deal between Microsoft and Yahoo are false and that the only possibility is an acquisition of the search division of Yahoo.
We reported earlier that the deal between Microsoft and Yahoo would include the creation of a new management team to be led by ex-AOL chairman and CEO, Jonathan Miller, and former Fox Interactive Media President, Ross Levinsohn. However, the AllThingsDigital blog has quoted Levinsohn as saying the report is "total fiction," and also states that according to sources at both Microsoft and Yahoo, there is no such deal.
According to Reuters, a spokesman for Yahoo said, "we don"t comment on rumors, and all this is a rumor."
Carl Icahn who sits on Yahoo"s board reckons that a deal may be possible, if it is for the search division alone. "Microsoft has said publicly that they are not interested in buying the whole company, and I believe them. But they are interested in doing a deal on search, and we should pursue that," said Icahn.
Speculation over a deal between Microsoft and Yahoo has been rife since Yahoo Chief Executive, Jerry Yang, stepped down from his position in May. Is the latest deal just another rumour as AllThingsDigital suggest, or is there actually some truth behind it?