Yahoo rejects Microsoft, report says it may buy AOL

Yahoo Inc., which rejected Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid Monday as too low, wants to restart merger talks with Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit, according to a London newspaper.

The Times said, without citing its sources, that the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company (NASDAQ: YHOO) is exploring merger talks with AOL, as well as deals with Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) or Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).

The paper reported that previous talks between Yahoo and AOL failed because of differences over price.

Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) said last week that it planned to split AOL's Internet access business from its Web portal and advertising business.

The possible Yahoo-AOL talks came as Yahoo formally rejected Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) $31 per share offer as too low. Reports over the weekend said Yahoo won't consider an offer below $40 a share, which would boost the price by about $12 billion.

In the statement released Monday, Yahoo said its board is "continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders."