AOL clicks with Yahoo! to sideline Microsoft
AOL, the American internet company, is attempting to piece together a deal with Yahoo! designed to help the Silicon Valley-based search engine evade the clutches of Microsoft, the world’s biggest software group. AOL, which is owned by Time Warner, is understood to have held discussions with Yahoo!’s advisers in recent days to see if an agreement between the two sides is workable. AOL’s determination to present itself as the most attractive of the white knights available to Yahoo! follows the formal rejection last week of Microsoft’s $31-a-share offer for Yahoo!. The Microsoft bid valued Yahoo! at more than $42bn, sparking what will be one of the world’s biggest takeover battles this year.