Microsoft, Yahoo Finally Strike Search Deal

Microsoft and Yahoo finally officially tied the knot today, with a 10-year deal to integrate their search and advertising businesses, MSNBC reports. It appears Microsoft won't pay Yahoo up front, which is probably a blow to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who promised she'd only join Microsoft for a "boatload of money." Instead they'll share ad revenue, and Microsoft will pay Yahoo a traffic acquisition fee.

Yahoo's search will now likely be accompanied by a "powered by Bing" tag, even though Microsoft will license Yahoo's core search technology. "It’s been a long road to today’s announcement, but I’m extremely happy with where we ended up," said Steve Ballmer. "This deal is a win-win." But there's one more stretch of road ahead: the deal still has to get the OK from regulators.
(More Yahoo stories.)