Escape Clause Inserted in Yahoo-Microsoft Deal

Yahoo has an escape clause in the deal it just struck with Microsoft (Berman Post: Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal). If Bing goes belly up against Google, Yahoo can jettison and hope for the best on its own.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10303168-2.html

"

If Microsoft falters as the exclusive provider for search on Yahoo's network of Web sites--when benchmarked against Google--Yahoo can back out of the deal.

Yahoo has the right to terminate the deal signed last week, "if the trailing 12-month average of the (revenue per search) in the United States (the "U.S. RPS") of Yahoo and Microsoft's combined queries falls below a specified percentage of Google Inc.'s ("Google") estimated RPS measured on a comparable basis or if the combined Yahoo! and Microsoft query market share in the United States falls below a specified percentage," according to a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"