New York: Yahoo Inc. has pulled out of discussions over buying a stake in America Online Inc., leaving Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. as the leading potential suitors.
The decision to abandon the talks came after Yahoo chief executive Terry Semel and chief finance officer Susan Decker met in late October with Time Warner executives in New York, said Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens.
Stevens said Yahoo had politely passed on proposed terms and "walked away" from any interest in a deal.
Two people close to the discussions said a key stumbling block was the Time Warner Inc.'s insistence that it retain majority ownership in the AOL unit.
An arrangement under the discussion had called for Yahoo to pay Time Warner in stock worth $13 billion for an 80 per cent stake in AOL's growing content business, which includes its websites and the news, music and other services featured on them.
Under that proposal, Time Warner would keep all of AOL's Internet access business, which is in decline as users abandon dial-up connections for higher-speed cable and DSL lines.
Yahoo?s withdrawal, reported earlier on the website of The Wall Street Journal, leaves Microsoft and Google as the leading contenders, with Google possibly combining with Comcast Corp. in a bid.
Comments
0 comment