engine - 7:04 pm on Oct 29, 2009 (gmt 0)

Could Microsoft Save ask.com [reuters.com]

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is viewed as the most likely buyer or partner for IAC/InterActiveCorp's (IACI.O) Ask.com if CEO Barry Diller decides to throw in the towel on the struggling search engine. Diller effectively hung a "for sale" sign on Ask.com on Tuesday, when he said on a conference call with Wall Street analysts that the search business is "challenging" and its future is "speculative. Answering questions about whether he would consolidate a business that has been unable to expand beyond its 4 percent market share in search queries, Diller said, "The answer is 'yes.' And it is unlikely that we would be the consolidator."