Yahoo may use the payments, $150 million in total, "to partially cover transition and implementation costs not otherwise covered under the search agreement," Yahoo states in papers filed Wednesday with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
Yahoo's filing reveals other, previously undisclosed details about the agreement.
Among other things, Microsoft will hire a minimum of 400 Yahoo employees on a full-time basis as it extends Bing to Yahoo's Web sites. It will also hire an additional 150 Yahoo workers to help with the transition.
The SEC filing further shows that Yahoo can terminate the arrangement if search traffic generated by the alliance falls below a specified percentage of Google's traffic. Yahoo also retains the right to expand the partnership by adding Microsoft's mapping and mobile search services to its Web properties.
Microsoft must submit to Yahoo copies of all data it collects from its sites while providing search services, according to the filing.
Bartz has said that, by in effect outsourcing search to Microsoft, her company can save $200 million in annual capital expenditures through reduced spending on search-related operations. The companies said it could take up to two years for them to fully implement their agreement.
Stay connected and informed by visiting our Enterprise IT Community!

Become a member today for instant access to free InformationWeek research, expert advice, peer perspectives, and more on the following topics:
- Application Performance Management (APM)
- Security Management
- Mainframe 2.0
- IT Automation
- Service Assurance
Also, visit our Government, Retail and Financial Services groups to see how these technologies apply specifically to those industries.
NOTE: Offer valid for U.S., U.S. possessions, & Canada only.