Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer are apparently talking about potential search and advertising partnerships between the two companies, reports Kara Swisher, co-editor of AllThingsDigital. The two chief executives reportedly met face to face last week.
The conversations are "preliminary and wide-ranging" but do not involve a renewal of Microsoft's attempts to buy Yahoo!, according to Swisher's sources.
Bartz (pictured) seems to be getting her way -- at least when it comes to keeping the negotiations private, as neither company is commenting. At a recent investor conference, Bartz said she had told Ballmer, "I am not going to negotiate with my 55,000 favorite friends," referring to Microsoft's employees. "This is what I told him. Until then, there is no comment on it." -- Mary Kathleen Flynn
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