The Microsoft–Yahoo idea is history now, but that leaves the California search giant looking to possibilities for thefuture. Yesterday Chief Executive Jerry Yang sent out an e-mail to employees that was reported by Reuters: "We have a spirit and a culture inthat is uniquely Yahoo. Staying true to who we are has helped us pull through the recent uncertainty we’ve faced." However, some shareholders are considering mounting a challengeto the board, and especially Yang, over the way talks collapsed. Eric Jackson, who heads a group of investors who together own 2 million Yahoo shares, told Reuters: "Shareholders didn’teven get a chance to vote on the deal, but the board negotiated on our behalf and not in good faith." So what’s likely to happen to Yahoo now? According to Microsoft, thepossibilities are quite bleak, but it’s perhaps not that bad. They had been talking to News Corp., but things seem to have cooled on that front. Adeal with AOL remains possible, and it’s quite possible that Yahoo will pursue some kind of ad deal with Google following its two-week experiment. And,unlikely as it might seem right now, don’t rule out the possibility of Microsoft and Yahoo getting together again for talks once the dust has settled.
