Yahoo sells European shopping service after Microsoft buys one

Less than a week after Jerry Yang announced his departure as CEO, Yahoo on Friday sold European shopping service Kelkoo to UK-based start-up Jamplant, apparently taking a large loss.

Although Yahoo hasn't announced the terms of its deal with Jamplant, Kelkoo CEO Pierre Chapaz reportedly wrote in his blog that Yahoo sold Kelkoo for less than 100 million euros ($125 million) in contrast to the 475 million euros ($588 million) that Yahoo paid for Kelkoo in 2004.

In August of this year, Microsoft bought a different European shopping comparison service, known as Ciao, for $486 million.

In its ongoing attempt to gain traction against Google in online search, Microsoft has also built Live Search Cashback, a shopping feature launched in May, around technology obtained from Jellyfish through an earlier Microsoft buyout.

Ironically, Kelkoo recently introduced a cashback capability of its own. According to an article this week in Business.Scotsman.com, Kelkoo Cashback offers up to 25 percent cashback from more than 600 online shops and service providers, including Vodafone and European retailers Sainsbury's and Currys.

Meanwhile, little is known about Jamplant, a private equity firm established only six weeks ago.