LONDON,
Nov 30
Reuters
A report in the Sunday Times that Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is in talks with Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to buy the U.S internet company’s online search business for $20 billion is “total fiction,” according to a key executive cited by an influential U.S. blog.
The Sunday Times, which did not cite its sources, said the proposal under discussion involves a complex transaction that would see the U.S. software giant support a new management team to take control of Yahoo.
The team would be led by ex-AOL Chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller and former Fox Interactive Media President Ross Levinsohn, the report said.
But the AllThingsDigital blog, affiliated with the Wall Street Journal, quoted Levinsohn as saying the report was “total fiction.” Top sources at Yahoo and Microsoft also scoffed at the report, the blog said.
Yahoo spokesman Brad Williams said: “We don’t comment on rumours, and all this is is a rumour.”
A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment.
