Report: Microsoft seeks help for another Yahoo bid

With its shareholders fuming, Yahoo has unsuccessfully tried to persuade Microsoft to revive its bid for the entire company at $33 a share.

The impasse has deepened the animosity between the two companies, with Yahoo denigrating its suitor as "unresponsive and inconsistent" and Microsoft accusing Yahoo of engaging in "revisionist history."

By floating the idea of a Yahoo breakup, Microsoft may be trying to provide Icahn with ammunition for his attempt to overthrow Yahoo's nine-member board. Icahn didn't return a call Wednesday, but he has publicly stated he is opposed to doing a Microsoft deal unless it involves selling Yahoo as a whole.

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AP Technology Writer Jessica Mintz in Seattle contributed to this report.