Yahoo has finally reached a deal with Google through which the two companies will sell together advertising. The move was necessary to bring in a steady flow of cash to ensure that the company, just out of a battle with Microsoft, is going forward and keeps stockholders happy. The additional funds will enable Yahoo to invest in long-term strategies which should keep the company running strong in the future.

The deal is aimed at bringing Google paid search results to some Yahoo search terms. Yahoo expects to get between $250 and $450 million in incremental operation cash flow out of the agreement. Yahoo President Susan Decker declined to indicate the exact percentage which goes to Google, but she said it is a "competitive" split between the two companies.

The deal strengthens the portal company's board further thwarts the efforts put out by greedy investor Carl Icahn, who would apparently stop at nothing to see the company sold to rival Microsoft.

The deal also includes a special provision which further weakens Icahn's position, which has received quite a few blows recently. Yahoo says in the contract that it will pay Google up to $250 million in early termination fees if control of the company changes within 24 months, which would be a deterrent for any prospective buyer.

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang said that he thinks the deal puts Yahoo on a faster track to creating value. He previously said that the Microsoft deal just wasn't the best option, and he was not opposing it outright. Yang said Microsoft walked away by not wanting to pay the real value of his company.

Meanwhile, Senator Heb Kohl, head of the US Senate's antitrust panel, has announced a careful review of the deal which might have far-reaching consequences. The Antitrust Subcommittee is certainly aware that a partnership between two large advertising rivals has to be analyzed with care. The companies have a somewhat failsafe provision in their agreement, which allows other companies to display ads on Yahoo's pages. Thus, it is not an exclusive deal.