MacRumors.com

One report lists Apple amongst possible companies that are considering rival offers for Yahoo after Microsoft issued a public bid of $44.6 billion for the company last week. Part of the hesitation is reportedly Yahoo CEO, Jerry Yang, being reluctant to join Microsoft.

It is believed [Yang] would be particularly open to a rescue bid from Steve Jobs' Apple Corp, having openly expressed his admiration for the firm in the past. Yang last year invited Jobs to Yahoo's headquarters in Sunnyvale to give a motivational talk to staff.

While Apple does have $16 billion in the bank, representatives from other companies have already expressed reluctance to place a bid for Yahoo against Microsoft, who could easily top their bids. Meanwhile, it appears Google has been playing an active role in trying to hinder this move. Google CEO Eric Schmidt personally phoned Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to offer assistance in fending off a Microsoft acquisision.