Mr. Miller

Ex-AOL CEO Jonathan Miller is talking with private investors in hopes of obtaining part of all of Yahoo, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Up until recently it was assumed that Time Warner would incorporate AOL — another flagging internet brand — into Yahoo. Those talks have dissipated.

Miller's proposed purchase price would be around $20 to $22 a share, or some $30 billion — significantly lower than Microsoft's $33-per-share bid for the company earlier this year. Yahoo's stock has since been mired in the low double-digits.

Pixel pundits argue the investment would be highly risky in the current ad market. And obtaining funds for a deal of this size would be difficult, given that banks, private-equity investors and even deep-pocketed sovereign wealth funds are getting tighter with their cash.

Miller ran AOL from 2002 to 2006, at which time he was purportedly ousted from his post. He consulted with Microsoft and Yahoo during their negotiations earlier this year, and has close ties with Yahoo and minority shareholder Carl Icahn, writes Fortune. Miller was also nominated to Yahoo's board last August. (His name was ultimately withdrawn due to a non-compete clause in his contract with Time Warner.)

Miller now runs venture firm Velocity Interactive Group.

Since the tumultuous days of the Microsoft takeover bid, Yahoo's spun ever downward. It made several efforts to improve its search business, but continues to lose search share to Google. It also saw earnings fall 64% last quarter.

Complaints about how the business — and Microsoft's acquisition offer — were handled have been both frequent and public. The company's instability is further augmented by the departure of CEO Jerry Yang and the search for his replacement.