Is it time for Microsoft to Ask? |
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Is it time for Microsoft to Ask?
New comments from CEO Barry Diller make it pretty clear that IAC/InterActiveCorp would be interested in at least exploring the possibility of selling its Ask.com search business, and Reuters reports that analysts are interpreting his remarks as an open invitation for acquisition talks with Microsoft.
It's not clear if Microsoft would be game for such talks, but it could be an interesting possibility for the company to consider -- holding the potential to put Bing solidly over 30 percent market share in the United States, when adding in the market share it would assume through its Yahoo search and advertising deal.
Ask.com has just under 4 percent of the U.S. search market, according to the comScore research firm, compared with 64.6 percent for Google, 19.3 percent for Yahoo and 9.3 percent for Microsoft Bing.
On the other hand, Microsoft might not have much of an appetite for Ask.com at a time when it's still trying to work out the details of the Yahoo partnership, under which Microsoft will handle the underlying search technology for both companies. A new regulatory filing from Yahoo indicates that it's taking longer than expected to iron things out. Regulators are still reviewing the agreement, as well, but the companies are still aiming to close the deal by early 2010.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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