AOL might tie up with Yahoo

TWO WANING BRANDS on the world wide web, AOL and Yahoo might be teaming up to try for a much needed comeback.

According to the Wall Street Journal AOL has hired financial advisers to look at some sort of strategic partnership.

But what is strange is that AOL has so far not had a word to Yahoo about it yet, so it is a bit like booking a church for a wedding without popping the question.

The options being looked at reportedly include merging Yahoo's and AOL's online businesses and spinning off Yahoo's Asian assets to give shareholders back some capital.

Another idea would have private equity buy a stake in the combined operations and give a dividend to Yahoo shareholders, the newspaper said.

This is not the first time we have heard about something like this. Last month, a source told Reuters that several private equity firms had approached Internet and media companies including News Corp and AOL to gauge their interest in buying out Yahoo.

That proposal also depended on Yahoo flogging its Asian assets so buyers could afford it. µ