Are Microsoft and Yahoo talking again?

Shares rise on rumours

25 June 2008 9:58 GMT / By Katie Scott

We thought it was all over, Yahoo's execs thought the battle was won, but now it seems that talks with Microsoft may be back on.

There have been stories aplenty that Yahoo is in disarray facing a shareholder mutiny over the failed takeover talks (round II) and also losing key staff to rivals.

So could the besieged internet company have decided to start talking to Microsoft yet again?

TechCrunch has reported that the merger talks are back on citing unnamed sources, and the rumour immediately caused Yahoo's shares to sail as high as $23.71, a 10.5% rise from their Monday close and a 15% jump from a Tuesday session low of $20.60.

But analysts are warning that the market may have over-reacted.

Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay told Reuters: "People are attributing huge outcomes to very small pieces of information".

Shares dropped back again after TV news channel CNBC said no deal was on the table between the two companies.

Both Microsoft and Yahoo are not commenting.