Disney has joined the list of companies not interested in AOL, as chief executive Robert Iger yesterday put his rejection on the table.

Iger said Disney was considering technology acquistions, but AOL was not one of them.

Time Warner has been looking for a home for the internet access part of AOL since February, while keeping the portal and ad business. But the business has struggled to define itself or provide a clear reason why anyone else would want to buy it.

The only other possible home for AOL would be with Yahoo! - as part of a deal to fend off Microsoft's hostile bid. But after initial talks between the two, it seems discussions have cooled.

Yahoo! was also talking up the chances of a deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - but Murdoch said yesterday he wasn't interested in getting into a bidding war with Microsoft because the software firm has a lot more money than News Corp. ®

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