(14 February 2008 3:25 pm)

MUMBAI: There is a new twist in the Yahoo Inc tale. The online major is weighing the possibility of a partnership with Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp.

According to reports, News Corp. may decide to merge its Fox Interactive Media unit which houses MySpace and IGN with Yahoo and take a stake of 20-25 per cent in the combined entity.

The talks are believed to be at a very preliminary stage.

Apparently, besides talking with News Corp., Yahoo also has explored an advertising partnership with Google, its biggest rival. Reports of a possible merger with Time Warner Inc.'s AOL were published in the media recently.

Microsoft's deal was originally at $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, while Yahoo is believed to want at least $40 per share, or about $56 billion.