Dow Jones: Ask Jeeves Buy Bolsters Negotiation Stance With Google

Not only did the Ask Jeeves purchase of Interactive Search Holdings (ISH) double its search marketshare, but it also put Ask Jeeves in a more powerful position in negotiating its expiring contract with Google. Investors had worried that the small search engine wouldn't have the clout needed to get the same terms it won last time around.

The more the financial analysts look at the transaction, the more they wonder why ISH let itself go for such a small price. Just yesterday, a Yahoo search executive said that each share point in the search arena is worth about $200 million, which would have placed IHT's value roughly double what it was sold for.