Facebook in talks to sell itself to Yahoo: paper
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Social-networking Web site  Facebook.com is in serious talks to sell itself to Internet  media company Yahoo Inc. for an amount that could approach $1  billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - News Corp. recently discussed swapping its MySpace social-networking site in exchange for a large stake in Yahoo, according to published reports. However, the status of the discussions remains uncertain because News Corp. made the proposal before Terry Semel resigned on Monday as Yahoo's chairman and CEO, according to reports published Wednesday by The New York Times and the U.K. Times. Both newspapers attributed the information to anonymous sources. The New York Times reported that News Corp. discussed with Yahoo the idea of giving up MySpace in exchange for a 25 percent stake in the Sunnyvale, California Internet giant. Meanwhile, the U.K. Times said News Corp. told Yahoo it wanted a 30-percent stake for MySpace. With Yahoo's market capitalization at $37.7 billion mid-morning Wednesday, the deal would put MySpace's value at between $9.4 billion and $11.3 billion. News Corp. bought MySpace along with other Internet properties for $580 million when it acquired Intermix MediaInc. in July 2005. The U.K. Times, which is owned by News Corp., reported that its parent company is interested in the Yahoo stake as a way to gain "exposure to a far larger Internet-based business." The New York Times characterized News Corp.'s overture as "informal" and as a "loose proposal" that hasn't generated "meaningful negotiations." The U.K. Times called the discussions "tentative" and potentially closed now that Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has become its CEO. Yahoo reportedlyÂ tried unsuccessfully to buyÂ social-networking site Facebook for $1 billion last year. In May of this year, the U.K.'s Sunday Telegraph reported that Yahoo had expressedÂ interest in buying social-networking site BeboÂ for the same amount. Yahoo executives have in the past year publicly acknowledged the company is weak in the social-networking space, ruled currently by MySpace. In the U.S., MySpace attracted almost 80 percent of all visits to social-networking sites in April, followed in a very distant second place by Facebook with 11.5 percent, according to Hitwise. Bebo came in third place with 1.3 percent of visits. Yahoo 360, the company's social-networking site, took seventh place with 0.71 percent. News Corp. declined to comment about Wednesday's reports. Yahoo didn't immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Â
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Global media giant News Corp. has discussed swapping social networking site MySpace with Internet giant Yahoo in return for a 25-percent stake in the group, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is talking with Yahoo about business deals, including one that would combine News Corp.'s MySpace with Yahoo.
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Yahoo Inc. will sell display advertising for Bebo Inc., the first such deal Yahoo has secured with a social networking site, the companies said on Wednesday.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft has approached FacebookÂ in recent weeks proposing an investment that would give Microsoft a stake of up to 5 percent in the popular social-networking company, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. With Microsoft willing to invest between $300 million and $500 million, the deal would value Facebook at $10 billion or more, the Journal reported, quoting anonymous sources. Google has also expressed an interest in acquiring a Facebook stake recently, according to the Journal. Thus, Microsoft could find itself competing for Facebook's attention with Google. However, Facebook's discussions with Google and Microsoft are in the early stages and could end up with no agreement with either suitor, according to the Journal. IDG News Service's requests for comment from Facebook, Microsoft, and Google weren't immediately answered. Founded in February 2004, Facebook is one of the world's most popular social-networking sites with about 42 million active users. Facebook has been growing strongly in the past 12 months. In December, it had about 12 million active users. The site initially only admitted students, but last September it lifted that restriction. In May of this year, itÂ opened up to third-party developersÂ to create applications for the site, which has also added to its popularity with users. Along the way, it has caught the attention of big Internet playersÂ such asÂ Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo. The latter reportedly tried to buy Facebook last year for $1 billion. Facebook's attractiveness is that it builds very strong and deep relationships with its users.Â More thanÂ half of its active members return to the site daily, and Facebook knows a lot about them, thanks to all the personal information people disclose on their site profiles and interactions with other members. This, in turn, offers a desirable audience to advertisers and to ad sellers and distributorsÂ such asÂ Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. A little more than a year ago,Â Facebook chose Microsoft to display banner adsÂ on the site. Facebook would be interested in using the cash raised from selling a stake for buying other companies, increasing its staff of about 300, and beefing up its technical infrastructure, the Journal reported. Facebook is also weighing the option of raising funds from financial investors, the Journal said.
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Microsoft Corp will authorize a proxy  battle for Yahoo Inc this week to convince the Web company's  shareholders to agree on a takeover deal that the Yahoo board  so far has rejected, the New York Times' DealBook blog said on  Tuesday.
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InfoWorld - Facebook will sell a $240 million minority stake to Microsoft, which as part of the deal will also expand the advertising services it provides to the social networking phenom, the companies said Wednesday in a statement.
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NEW YORK -- Yahoo Inc. disclosed a far-reaching partnership yesterday with 176 newspapers to sell ads, share content and deliver Internet search, graphical and classified advertising to consumers.
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Yahoo Inc's board of directors is to meet on Friday to discuss Microsoft Corp's $44.6 billion buyout offer, the TechCrunch blog said, citing unnamed sources.
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Microsoft Corp will authorize a proxy battle for Yahoo Inc this week to convince the Web company's shareholders to agree on a takeover deal that the Yahoo board so far has rejected, the New York Times' Dealbook blog said on Tuesday.
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A chorus of Wall Street analysts are urging Yahoo to take the deal, now that it's clear no other buyers are really emerging. But they're also saying it's time for Microsoft to raise its original offer for Yahoo in order to make it happen.
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A little more than a week after Yahoo received an unsolicited bid from Microsoft, the company has reportedly entered talks about a partnership with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Analysts say the matchup would do little to resolve Yahoo's woes.
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Global media giant News Corp. has proposed swapping social networking site MySpace with Internet giant Yahoo in return for a 25-percent stake in the enlarged group, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
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Yahoo Inc's  board of  directors is to meet on Friday to discuss Microsoft Corp's   $44.6 billion buyout offer, the TechCrunch blog said,  citing unnamed sources.
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Microsoft Corp will authorize a  proxy battle for Yahoo Inc this week to convince the Web  company's shareholders to agree on a takeover deal that the  Yahoo board so far has rejected, the New York Times' Dealbook  blog said on Tuesday.
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Yahoo has offered about $900 million to woo Mark Zuckerberg, the 22-year-old founder of Facebook.com and says it will keep him in charge.