Overture Slumps as AOL Talks Drone On

Shares in Overture Services(OVER Quote) fell Friday afternoon on news that the pay-per-click Internet search company hasn't been able to close a closely watched deal with America Online.

After a high-volume, late-day upward spike, Overture fell $1.85, or 6%, to close at $29.02. In after-hours trading, the stock fell an additional 91 cents.

At the market's close, Overture issued a press release disclosing that it had extended its current contract with AOL until April 24, to give the two companies time to negotiate a contract extension. The contract had been set to expire this month.

In recent months Overture's shares have risen and fallen sharply in response to news about its relationships with its affiliates. Companies including AOL Time Warner's(AOL Quote) AOL use Overture's search engine on their Web sites in return for a slice of the advertising revenue that Overture reaps. Overture gets the revenue from marketers who pay for prominent placement in the listings that pop up in response to search queries on specific terms. ...