Overture Outbids Microsoft's MSN.(for AltaVista)(Brief Article)

Overture, a provider of pay-for-performance searches on the Internet, has agreed to acquire search technology provider AltaVista in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $140 million. A report in the New York Post said that's about $40 million more than Microsoft's MSN unit was willing to pay. The Post claims that MSN offered as little as $60 million and as much as $100 million for AltaVista, a majority-owned operating company of Internet incubator CMGI.

An MSN insider, speaking on the condition of anonymity, reportedly told the Post, "Technically MSN was outbid. Realistically, Overture overpaid."

MSN is one of Overture's largest partners. MSN and Yahoo accounted for 63% of Overture's revenue, according to Overture's last quarterly report.

Overture's move comes just a few weeks after Yahoo said it would acquire search technology provider Inktomi. The deal ends a speckled history for AltaVista, which was launched in 1995 by Digital Equipment.