Yahoo shares shot up nearly 6 percent in earning-morning trading Wednesday, on word that Microsoft may seek partners to make another bid for the company's search business.
The stock price jumped 5.8 percent to US$21.38 a share early Wednesday, just a day after Yahoo's shares fell below US$20 to come very near the level where they were trading prior to the start of Microsoft's buyout bid in February.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has been sidling up to other companies about teaming up to make a bid for Yahoo, a move that would result in a breakup of the Internet search pioneer, with Microsoft retaining the search portion of Yahoo's business.
Microsoft reportedly is talking to Time Warner and News Corp. about this arrangement, giving investors a sense of deja vu. Time Warner and News Corp. were among the white knights Yahoo had reportedly sought out after Microsoft announced its unsolicited bid.
Investors may want to keep in mind this one sentence in the Wall Street Journal report:
"Some of the people familiar with these talks say they are preliminary and unlikely to result in a deal with Yahoo."
Whether investors pay heed to the word "unlikely" has yet to be seen, as Yahoo's stock gets another bounce.
This article was first published as a blog on CNET News.com.
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