Internet giant Google, the most widely used search engine, used for 49% of all searches, will give rival Yahoo stock worth $328 million, based on the midpoint in the $108-to-$135-per-share range that Google has established for its highly anticipated initial public offering, to settle a long-standing patent lawsuit, which concerns online advertising technology.
Under the terms of the settlement, Yahoo subsidiary Overture Services, formerly known as Goto.com, which in 2000 began offering text-based ads that pop up next to search results (Google's similar AdWords program began in 2001), will license certain patents to Google, and in return, Google will pay for them with 2.7 million shares of stock. In addition, the payment resolves a dispute about how much Yahoo is owed under an old partnership between the two that ended in February when Yahoo dumped Google in favor of its own search technology.
