The proposed Microsoft-Yahoo deal seems to have hit a small and oddly unspecified bump.  The companies missed an October 27th deadline by which they hoped to have some details ironed out.

Yahoo admitted yesterday in an SEC filing, "The Letter Agreement specified that the parties would execute Definitive Agreements by October 27, 2009, but given the complex nature of the transaction, there remain some details to be finalized.  The parties are working diligently on finalizing the agreements, have made good progress to date, and have agreed to execute the agreements as expeditiously as possible."

The Microsoft-Yahoo partnership hasn't been derailed, then, and considering all the time and energy everyone's spent following these dealings, that's a bit of a relief.  There's just the question of why this delay has occurred.

Microsoft and Yahoo might be holding some quiet discussions with regulators in order to make sure they get things right on the first try.  Or maybe, considering that this is a ten-year deal, both sides' lawyers have just gotten a little overwhelmed with paperwork.

Anything more serious would probably merit a mention in the SEC filing.

So hang in there and we'll see what happens.  Yahoo did not establish a new target date, by the way.

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