Yahoo says that the distractions of Microsoft's hostile bid are over and that it will resume making acquisitions especially in advertising related sectors.

Jonathan Dillon, VP of Strategic Partnerships & Acquisition Integration at Yahoo said that the company had suspended its acquisitions because the board was distracted by the Microsoft bid.

"We are resuming acquisitions and we will be looking to shore up our leading position in display advertising and other advertising related areas," said Mr Dillon.

He was speaking on a panel Thursday evening organized by the Irish Network of San Francisco and Enterprise Ireland. Other panelists included Richard Alfonsi, Director Online Sales and Operations at Google, Tom Costello, CEO of Cuil, Jason Devitt, CEO of Skydeck, and Ivan MacDonald, CEO of Dial 2 Do.

Acquisitions are the last remaining exit strategy for most investors in Silicon Valley startups because the IPO window is currently closed to tech companies.

Yahoo has made 56 acquisitions since September 1997. The most recent acquisition was Inquisitor in May 2008 for an undisclosed sum. In February Yahoo acquired Maven Networks for $160m, and Foxy Tunes for an undisclosed sum.

[Please see: List of acquisitions by Yahoo! - Wikipedia ]

Mr Dillon pointed to the BlueLithium acquisition last September for $300m as representing the type of advertising related technologies that interest Yahoo.

Yahoo's share price after Friday markets closed was $12.20, down from a 52 week high of $30.25.