Yahoo has reportedly joined the ranks of big-name contestants vying for AOL's favors, according to TheStreet.com, which cites unnamed sources. Meanwhile, talks between Time Warner and (jointly) Google and Comcast continue, according to people familiar with the talks, as do talks between Microsoft's MSN and AOL. At stake is AOL's large portal and search user audience, and the $380 million in search ad revenue that is now its partner Google's share.

Regarding Yahoo's reported move, JupiterResearch analyst Gary Stein is quoted by CNET as saying "there is no clear reason for it, other than maybe the fact that after a couple of people become interested in this property, others look at it and say, 'I certainly don't want to see it go to a competitor.'"

AOL earlier this year made a significant shift in its business model by opening up its walled-off content and launching a new AOL.com public portal in an effort to gain ad revenue that has been going to its rivals.