Just last week, Jason Miller of WebProNews Insider Report wrote that Yahoo! was working to uncover Google's method of page ranking.

"search experts at Yahoo seem to think it's not complex enough. Based on patent filings, Yahoo is dabbling in ranking algorithms that incorporate more user behavior data in advance of the company's next run at toppling Google's haloed relevance. "

The unsolicited offer will allow Yahoo shareholders to choose from cash or stock when the buyout occurs.

This offer should not come to any surprise, as Microsoft and Yahoo both explored ways to work together in 2006 and 2007. At that time Yahoo rejected the idea of a takeover.