Is Yahoo Considering AOL Courtship?Is Yahoo Considering AOL Courtship?

Yahoo is said to be ready to revive merger talks with AOL to protect itself against Microsoft's clenches.As first reported by the Times of London, Yahoo and its team of financial advisers have been evaluating options that would "save [AOL] from being swallowed by Microsoft." It came out over the weekend that Yahoo planned to reject Redmond's offer.

Yahoo and AOL previously failed to join forces because of differences over price.

Some industry observers speculate this is Yahoo's way of trying to get Microsoft to up its price, to the tune of $12 billion more than its original $44.6 billion unsolicited bid.

"AOL plugs none of Yahoo?s holes -- no search marketing platform (Google handles that for them). No algorithmic search technology (ditto). And very few actual searches (they have 5% market share, or less)," says TechCrunch's Mike Arrington.

Other options being considered by Yahoo included possible tie-ups with Google and Walt Disney, the Times of London also reported.Times of London