News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Rupert Murdoch left the door open on Monday to a joint bid with Microsoft to buy Yahoo, a day ahead of the Web portal's quarterly financial report.

In response to a reporter's question about his interest in pursuing a bid with Microsoft for Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), he said "Depends on the deal."

The 77-year-old media mogul also repeated earlier remarks about not having the financial firepower to top Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) bid.

"I certainly can't afford to bid against Microsoft" for Yahoo, Murdoch told attendees at a speech he gave at the Atlantic Council, an international affairs group.

The Web portal faces a Saturday deadline to respond to Microsoft, after which Microsoft has said it would launch a proxy battle to unseat Yahoo's board. Separately, sources have said Yahoo is pursuing a deal to merge with Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL Internet division.

Yahoo is expected to report its first quarter results on Tuesday. Strong results could force Microsoft to raise its estimated $43 billion offer, some analysts have said.

The company also is set to complete tests this week with Google on whether Google should run a piece of Yahoo's Web search ad sales.

Murdoch said Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is gaining influence in the advertising world.

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"Is Google really going to get control of the advertising world, and should Microsoft be supported in their attempt to try and stop that?" he asked.

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