Is the Yahoo-Microsoft Saga Finally at an End?

Microsoft may have walked away from the Yahoo soap opera in June, but they quickly revived their role as an evil twin. Taking off the kiddie gloves, Microsoft got a little friendly with Carl Icahn and started talking about buying only the Yahoo search engine or perhaps just breaking Yahoo into parts, taking what they wanted and selling the rest.

But it seems Icahn bit off a little bit more than he could chew. Major Yahoo shareholders like Legg Mason fund manager Bill Miller weren't convinced Icahn had a plan to turn Yahoo around, so a compromised was reached that would give Icahn a seat on the board as well as filling two other seats on the board with people of his choice.

The compromise is seen as possibly being the last nail in the Microsoft deal's coffin. With Yahoo getting into bed with Google and Microsoft not upping their bid for Yahoo's search business, any future deal between the two seems unlikely. But, if Microsoft should feel so inclined, they have the pockets to change Yahoo's mind. It is all a matter of how much they are willing to spend to get that chunk of the search market.