News Corp has returned to the negotiating table as a possible partner for Yahoo!. News Corp has been in talks about merging MySpace and its other internet activities with Yahoo in exchange for a substantial stake in the web portal, a person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. Earlier News Corp head Rupert Murdoch had denied any interest in acquiring all of Yahoo!. Both companies declined to comment. The two have talked in the past about merging MySpace and Yahoo, and the idea has resurfaced as Yahoo! fends off a hostile takeover bid from Microsoft. News Corp' internet assets at Fox Interactive Media include MySpace, IGN, Photobucket, Fox Sports and AmericanIdol.com. News Corp is also understood to have been talking to private equity firms and would join with one in making an investment in Yahoo that would give them a shareholding of more than 20 percent.
