Ballmer Says Now Is Time for Yahoo Search Deal: Report

Now is the best time for a partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo in the search business, as both companies are undergoing a management transition, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive officer, told the Financial Times in an interview published on the paper's Web site.

"We now have someone in place running our online business, and Yahoo’s out looking for a CEO," Ballmer told the FT. "If a search deal is to be made, it’s probably to be made in the interim period for new leaders in both places."

Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s outgoing chief executive, has said the Internet company would be open to any new discussions about a deal after being slammed by shareholders over his failure to agree to a Microsoft acquisition.

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Yahoo has been searching for a replacement for Yang since November and is believed to be closing in on a candidate, the paper said.

Microsoft first proposed a deal in which it would get control of Yahoo's search business last year, after dropping the full acquisition offer.

"We had a deal on the table that they didn’t choose to take, but I still think that makes sense," Ballmer told the FT. "For us, the value to the customer, the value to the advertiser, all gets created around the search partnership."