Although Microsoft Corp.'s effort to buy Yahoo Inc. was unsuccessful under former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang's control, Microsoft' CEO Steve Ballmer is once again hopeful for a possible deal, now that Carol Bartz has taken Yahoo's helm, Reuters reported Thursday.

"Unless I'm fooling myself, over time I would expect a there's a good opportunity for a deal," Ballmer said at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York, according to Reuters.

As Yahoo competes with Google, every aspect of the Internet company should be looked at, Bartz said at a conference in San Francisco recently, noting that if a deal is discussed between Yahoo and Microsoft, "we're going to negotiate as companies negotiate, privately."

Ballmer expects to close 20 small acquisition deals this year, each of which will range in value from US$10 million to $500 million, Reuters reported.