According to The American Lawyer, three firms have landed key advisory roles on one of the most significant non-M&A commercial transactions in recent months: the 10-year Internet search deal announced on Wednesday between Microsoft and Yahoo that seeks to scuttle Google's market dominance.
Under the terms of the deal, Yahoo will use and promote Microsoft's new Bing search engine on its site. Yahoo will also keep 88 percent of revenue from all search ad sales for the first five years and have the right to sell ads on select Microsoft sites.
While the lack of an up-front payment by Microsoft caused shares of Yahoo to sink early Wednesday, the deal is a clear shot across the bow of Google, the dominant force in online search and advertising.
Yahoo turned to a team of lawyers from Skadden, Arps, Slate & Flom and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton for the agreement with Microsoft.