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News Corp offers MySpace for swap with Yahoo: report

Global media giant News Corp has proposed swapping social networking site MySpace with Internet giant Yahoo Inc in return for a 25 percent stake in the enlarged group, the Times reported yesterday.

The daily newspaper, which is owned by News Corp, warned that the "tentative" talks could collapse following last week's departure of Yahoo chief executive Terry Semel, who was replaced by Yahoo's co-founder Jerry Yang (楊致遠).

Yang was appointed this week to help breathe new life into Yahoo, which has been losing ground to Google in Internet searching and advertising.

News Corp, run by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, was interested in a deal even if it meant losing control of MySpace because it would give exposure to a far larger Internet-based business, the Times said, quoting a News Corp source.

The report added that other News Corp digital assets, including games network IGN, were also thought to have been offered to Yahoo as part of the deal.

Yahoo's stock market capitalization stood at US$37 billion yesterday.

The paper added that one quarter of the enlarged group, including MySpace, would be worth about US$12.3 billion.

The Times said it was not clear whether Yahoo was willing to accept the terms offered by News Corp.

Last year, Yahoo was unsuccessful in an attempt to buy Facebook, the second-biggest social networking Web site, for US$1 billion.

Los Angeles-based MySpace was snapped up by News Corp in 2005 for US$580 million.
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