Microsoft said seeking partners for new Yahoo bid

In the ever-rotating, but never stopping merry-go-round that is Microhoogle, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night that Microsoft has been looking for partners in recent days that would help it make a new bid for Yahoo's search business.

The newspaper, suggests though, that because Microsoft canceled a scheduled meeting with Chairman Roy Bostock on Monday, that perhaps it is not finding any willing compatriots for a Yahoo move.

The paper also reports that Microsoft has met with Carl Icahn in recent days, urging the billionaire to keep pressing his proxy fight in an effort to motivate Yahoo's board.

Microsoft declined all comment. However, sources have told CNET News.com that large investors and at least one Yahoo director have been urging Microsoft to make a renewed bid for Yahoo's search business. Microsoft is said to be weighing such an offer.

It is also the case that Microsoft has met with nearly everyone at this point that could possibly be interested in a Yahoo bid.

The pressure on Yahoo appears to be increasing from several fronts. First, its stock price has dropped below $20 and to near where it was before Microsoft first went public with its bid on Feb. 1. Second, the federal government is moving to launch a formal probe of Yahoo's proposed search ad deal with Google. Finally, the company still faces its proxy fight with Icahn.

The Journal piece also has more detail and color about the two companies' past, failed negotiations. It makes for good reading, but I'm dizzy and going to get off the merry-go-round for a while. If anyone lands in anyone else's lap, feel free to wake me.

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