Twists and turns of the Yahoo drama

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The Yahoo, Microsoft and Google negotiations have been like watching a drawn-out soap opera.

Finally, the curtain has closed on one major act of the saga now that both Yahoo and Microsoft have announced that once and for all no deal can be done between the two companies.

However, the twist to this tale is the news that Yahoo will partner up with rival Google to foster an alternative search advertising arrangement.

This story started back in January when Microsoft first launched a bid to buy the whole of Yahoo.

Months of talks ensued with Yahoo constantly turning down offers.

In the end, Microsoft walked away from the table in May after offering to buy one of Silicon Valley's first internet portals for $33 a share, which amounted to $47.5bn.

There were several reasons given at the time for the deal going sour, not least among them the fact that Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang was looking for $37 a share.

It was too rich a price for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who decided he did not want to buy the company at that price.

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