Microhoo may be back on the table

Microsoft Corp. confirmed Monday it would be interested in resuming talks with Yahoo if it gets a new board of directors, to either buy the search business or the entire company.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has been pushing for a deal with Microsoft and has proposed a new slate of Yahoo directors, also issued a letter Monday, confirming that he has discussed the scenario "frequently" during the past week with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other executives.

In response to Icahn's letter, Yahoo's board of directors Monday said the company is ready to sell and urged Microsoft to make an offer for all of Yahoo now if it is still interested in buying rather than speculate about plans for some "future 'negotiation' between Mr. Icahn's directors and Microsoft's management."

"If Microsoft and Mr. Ballmer really want to purchase Yahoo!, we again invite them to make a proposal immediately," the company said in a statement.

Microsoft first made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo earlier on Feb. 1 -- a $44.6 billion cash-and-stock deal that offered shareholders a 62 percent premium over Yahoo's stock price the day before of $19.18.

But 10 days later, Yahoo's board rejected that offer, saying it undervalued the company. That day, Feb. 11, Yahoo's stock closed at almost $30. Microsoft later increased its offer to $33 per share, or about $47.5 billion, but Microsoft eventually walked away from the negotiations on May 3 after the two sides failed to agree on a price.