merger

With Yahoo, Microsoft faces antitrust fight once again

Microsoft's proposed $44.6 billion purchase of Yahoo could subject the software giant to the kind of critical antitrust scrutiny from Washington it hasn't experienced in nearly a decade.

There are plenty of obstacles -- including what Yahoo shareholders and board members think of the deal -- to overcome before the federal government gets involved. But there are already signs that any review will be intense.

"We will need to scrutinize the deal carefully to insure that it will not cause any harm to the competitiveness of what has been a vibrant high tech marketplace, nor negatively … Read more

Google's rise key to potential Microsoft-Yahoo merger

It has only taken three years for Google to unseat Yahoo in search, become the online ad king, and get so big it prompts Microsoft to try to buy Yahoo.

Microsoft announced on Friday it has made an offer to acquire Yahoo for $44.6 billion. The news comes days after Yahoo said it would lay off 1,000 workers, saw its fourth-quarter profit fall, and gave lukewarm guidance for the current quarter. By comparison, Google on Thursday posted fourth-quarter revenue of $4.8 billion, up more than 50 percent, while profit rose 17 percent.

Google has been able to … Read more

Yahoo must take the deal from Microsoft

In a move that came as a surprise to no one expect those living under a rock, Microsoft bid $44.6 billion for Yahoo.

According to Steve Ballmer, "Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers."

And while Ballmer stopped short of mentioning Google by name, this one statement highlights an important element of Microsoft's strategy. As I've mentioned before, Ballmer and company are focused on Google more than any other company and this deal with Yahoo may finally give it the leverage the company needs to capture greater influence online.

But I digress. Today, the real story surrounding the possible Yahoo acquisition has nothing to do with Google at all. Instead, today's announcement surrounds the absolute need for Yahoo to accept this acquisition to save itself.

Of course, the only problem is, nobody knows if it will.… Read more

Microsoft+Yahoo=AOL/Time Warner?

It's clear that Yahoo is struggling against Google, and it's clear that Microsoft wants nothing more than to be important in the online services world. But the combination of these two behemoths, neither of whom have been particularly innovative with technology or customer acquisition of late, is the next AOL/Time Warner debacle.

Does anyone think that the merger of AOL and Time Warner was a success? Does the marriage of two companies that have no clear strategies ever make sense?

Microsoft hasn't proven that it can take advantage of this scale of web property and has wasted a huge amount of time and dollars with all the Live.com junk. Yes, MS should move into new markets and look to the future but Yahoo is a massive undertaking with a completely different culture. … Read more

Cultural differences loom large in Microsoft-Yahoo

When you look at the cultural differences between Microsoft and Yahoo, you don't need to look much further than a floor plan.

Microsoft has been a company of offices, where workers toil individually at their piece of a collective project. Yahoo, by contrast is a Silicon Valley archetype where workers sit in cubicles and tend to work collaboratively.

The folks in Redmond are known for being hard-charging and competitive, both internally and externally. Yahoo, meanwhile, tends to be more collaborative, sometimes to the point of inefficiency.

There are philosophical differences as well. Yahoo has been a huge proponent of … Read more

Ballmer's letter to Yahoo: We want you

Below is the text of the letter that Microsoft sent to Yahoo's board of directors:

January 31, 2008

Board of Directors Yahoo! Inc. 701 First Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Attention: Roy Bostock, Chairman Attention: Jerry Yang, Chief Executive Officer

Dear Members of the Board:

I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of Microsoft to make a proposal for a business combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!. Under our proposal, Microsoft would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of US$31 based on Microsoft's closing share price on January … Read more

Microsoft: Threat or savior for Flickr?

There are probably too many electrons already being spilt today on Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo. Rather than delving into the $45 billion aspects of the deal, I'm going to specifically discuss Flickr, Yahoo's popular photo sharing service.

Flickr hasn't been a big part of the general online buzzing about this proposed deal. In part, this is doubtless because it's a small part of Yahoo's financials. It's probably also because most people have at best a vague awareness that Flickr is even a part of Yahoo. Yahoo bought Flickr and has largely left … Read more

Open-source silver lining in Microsoft's $44.6 billion wedding vow to Yahoo?

Microsoft and Yahoo, together forever. Could open-source offspring be the result?

According to Terry Semel, former CEO of Yahoo, the last time Microsoft approached Yahoo to buy some or all of its search business, Yahoo turned the Redmond giant down. Flat. As for an offer to acquire all of Yahoo, that "conversation has never come up."

"(Yahoo and Microsoft discussed) search and Microsoft co-owning some of our search. I will not sell a piece of search--it is like selling your right arm while keeping your left; it does not make any sense."

But that was then. Now Microsoft has put down a $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo that Yahoo surely can't refuse under present circumstances. Especially since it will give customers a new choice, and Microsoft is all about offering customers choice...or so it says:

Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player, who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers.

Yahoo would be foolish to decline, given its recent travails. What is most interesting to me in all this is how it could drag Microsoft into the next generation of open source.… Read more

Microsoft bids for Yahoo

Microsoft went public Friday with a $44.6 billion cash-and-stock bid to acquire Yahoo.

In its response, Yahoo called the Microsoft bid "unsolicited" but did not reject it.

Microsoft's offer, which was contained in the letter to Yahoo's board, amounts to $31 a share and represents a 62 percent premium over Yahoo's closing price on Thursday. Microsoft said it will offer shareholders the option of cash or stock.

"We have great respect for Yahoo, and together, we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers, and advertisers while becoming better positioned … Read more

Two old-time tech companies ripe for picking?

We are all used to mergers and acquisitions in our industry but usually these deals involve a big guy grabbing a smaller guy. Think Citrix Systems buying NetScaler, Cisco Systems purchasing WebEx, or Symantec jumping on Vontu. It's extremely rare to see larger or established tech vendors get gobbled up in a similar way. In 2008, I can foresee a couple of deals that break the traditional pattern.

First of all, I believe that either EMC, Hewlett-Packard, or Symantec will purchase venerable systems management vendor Compuware. Why? Compuware has a very extensive set of products and services that span … Read more