Microsoft looking to buy Yahoo search

Rather than make an all-out acquisition, Microsoft Corp. has proposed buying Yahoo Inc.'s search business and taking a minority stake in the company, according to a report.

The complex deal, reported Tuesday by Reuters citing an anonymous source, would also involve Yahoo putting its Asian assets, which include sizable stakes in Yahoo Japan and China's Alibaba Group, up for sale.

The two companies revealed the talks on the weekend but declined to reveal terms of the discussions, Reuters said. The proposal represents Microsoft's current thinking and does not yet put a value on Yahoo's search business, according to the source, who the news agency said was not authorized to speak on the record because the discussions are confidential.More>>