Yahoo Studies Alternatives to Microsoft

By Kevin J. Delaney and Matthew Karnitschnig

Word Count: 727 | Companies Featured in This Article: Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, Time Warner, AT&T, Comcast, News Corp., Verizon Communications

Yahoo Inc. is holding out hope that there are ways it can thwart Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover offer, including the emergence of a rival bidder or a business tie-up with Google Inc. that might allow it to remain independent, people familiar with the matter say.

No serious alternative bids have emerged, and antitrust experts say Google's latitude to do even a business deal with Yahoo is minimal because of likely regulatory concerns. At Microsoft, optimism is growing that the $31-a-share offer for Yahoo that it made public Friday will go through in the absence of rival bids, people ...