A Sign That Microsoft May Still Be Eying Yahoo

Microsoft's bid for Yahoo might be officially over, but there are indications from lobbyists and publicists in Washington working the deal that it might be renewed.

One insider said this week that Microsoft thinks Yahoo will come back with a counteroffer, lowering the prospective sales price to about $34 a share—from the $37 it had insisted on—and that the nation's largest software company would then reopen talks. Microsoft previously offered $33 a share.

As a result, some lobbyists and publicists have been told to stand by until the dust settles. They would most likely be needed to push congressional committees to allow the sale of the major Internet search engine to Microsoft, the company that is trying to keep pace with Google in the Internet market.

Microsoft officials have been grim when discussing the chances of reopening the talks after pulling the plug on its $47.5 billion takeover bid, but Washington sources have been more positive in their expectations since the deal collapsed last Saturday.

—Paul Bedard