Google and Yahoo announced this morning that they are abandoning attempts to overcome the objections of antitrust regulators and customers who believed the search alliance would give Google too much
power over online commerce.
It's another setback for Yahoo, which had been counting on the deal to boost its annual revenue by $800 million and placate shareholders still incensed by
management's decision to reject a $47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft Corp. nearly six months ago. Without Google's help, Yahoo now may feel more pressure to renew talks with Microsoft and
ultimately sell for a price well below the $33 per share that Microsoft offered in May. Yahoo shares traded Wednesday morning at just $13.67, up 2.4 percent on the day.
The collapse of the
deal won't be a significant financial blow for Google, which already runs the Internet's largest and most prosperous advertising network. But the capitulation marks a rare comedown for Google, which
had been insisting for more than four months that the Internet would be a better place to do business if it were allowed to work with Yahoo, according to The Associated Press.
Read the whole story at The Associated Press »