Yahoo’s board of directors planned to meet Friday to discuss Microsoft’s offer to purchase the multifaceted Web company for $44.6 billion.

CEO Jerry Yang clearly does not want to become part of Microsoft and has been scurrying to put together a deal to counter the offer. One possible white knight was the Japanese telecom company SoftBank, which owns a 41 percent share of Yahoo Japan and 3.9 percent of Yahoo. But Thursday night, SoftBank said it was not interested in making a bid.

The other offer on the table is a bit murkier. According to press reports, Google has offered to take by Yahoo’s search business for a sizable chunk of change. Such an arrangement in fraught with antitrust hazards but would give Yahoo more operating revenue.

Execs Pushing for Google

The TechCrunch blog reported that Yahoo’s outside consultants are recommending it take Microsoft’s offer, but “a contingent of senior executives at Yahoo, who are willing to do literally

anything to thwart a Microsoft takeover, are pushing for the Google deal and will present their case at the meeting.”

Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney earlier that week handicapped five possible outcomes for the situation. The most likely is that Yahoo rejects the $31-per-share offer, Microsoft increases the price, and the Yahoo board gives in. But the Google option is well within the realm of possibility.

“We believe the probability of [Google] is greater than financial markets realize,” Mahaney wrote. “If Yahoo’s board and management want to remain independent, shareholders will insist on a major value-creating strategy to balance the [Microsoft] bid. that may be the only viable strategy, as it could deliver 25 percent-plus accretion to [Yahoo]’s cash flow.”

Layoffs, Falling Revenues

Under the Google offer, Yahoo would more than double its revenue from today’s four cents per search to an estimated nine cents per search, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington…

Orginal post by Top Tech News