All eyes are on the Yahoo executives who are expected to announce the company’s earnings after the market closes on Tuesday. Along with shareholders looming over what Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has to report, Microsoft executives will be keeping a watchful eye as new reports have emerged about an Internet search and online advertising deal between the two companies.
Since her arrival in January, Bartz has been cleaning house at Yahoo in an effort to turn the company around and save on expenses. The executive, known for her tough-love management style, has cut 700 positions, or five percent of the workforce.
Bartz’s effort to clean up is also seen as preparation to seal the deal between Yahoo and Microsoft, a deal expected to come to fruition this week, according to an All Things Digital blog.
The blog reported that Microsoft executives, including Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president for the online audience business group; Satya Nadella, senior vice president for research and development; and Dr. Qi Lu, president of Microsoft’s Online Services Group and a former Yahoo search executive, were in Silicon Valley on Thursday for final talks on a deal.
If the software and Internet giants can come to an agreement, the combination would create a stronger force to compete against Internet search giant Google.
Google currently has 65 percent of the U.S. search market, according to comScore. Yahoo is in second place with 20 percent, while Microsoft trails behind in the number-three slot with an eight percent share.A
A deal means Microsoft will have to provide Yahoo with “boatloads of money”, according to Bartz, and Microsoft may be willing to pony up. Talks between Microsoft executives and predecessors Jerry Yang and Terry Semel in the past have not been successful. Microsoft’s reported $47.5 billion bid ($33 a share) to buy the…