Murdoch rebuts rumours of Yahoo deal

by Tristan O'Carroll, Media Week 11-Jul-08, 10:30

LONDON - Rupert Murdoch has said it is "very unlikely" that News Corporation will be involved in any deal with embattled internet group Yahoo, despite speculation linking the two over recent months.

Following the collapse of Microsoft’s $44.6bn (£22.5bn) takeover bid for Yahoo earlier this year, News Corp reportedly held talks with Yahoo with a view to combining its social network MySpace with Yahoo, as one of several possible link-ups between the two.

Speaking at the annual Allen & Co Sun Valley gathering of media executives in the US, Murdoch also predicted that Yahoo and Microsoft would not end up with any deal.

There won't be a deal. There's bad personal feelings, he said. In six months, Microsoft will walk away.

Murdoch also warned of a bumpy ride for media companies this year as the worsening economic climate takes hold, warning of 'a lot more bad shocks' ahead.

There are a lot more bad shocks coming. More lowering of values, companies selling assets, he warned