Microsoft’s plan to buy Web advertising firm aQuantive increases the likelihood that the software giant will also buy Yahoo, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto. Yahoo would plug a “strategic hole” at Microsoft that isn’t filled by the purchase of AQuantive, announced today, Noto said in a note to clients.
Is Yahoo Willing? Whether Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft buys Yahoo depends on whether Yahoo is willing to sell, Noto wrote. Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens and Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn declined to comment.
