Microsoft has confirmed that it is resuming talks with Yahoo to arrange a partial or total takeover.

Details are minimal at the moment but the deal is thought to include a variety of options, from buying Yahoo's search engine business to a deal on sharing the search advertising business that Microsoft is looking to expand.

"Microsoft is considering, and has raised with Yahoo, an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo," Microsoft said in a statement.

Reports from the US indicate that the resumption is not linked to the bid by billionaire investor Carl Icahn to take control of Yahoo and sell it to Microsoft. Yahoo is resisting Icahn's bid, calling the investor's plans a significant misunderstanding.

Microsoft initially offered $31 per share for Yahoo and later raised the bid to $33, but Microsoft withdrew after the board made it clear they were not interested unless the offer reached $37.