Acquisition

BuzzLogic, which tracks discussion of clients' companies across blogs and social-media sites and then pinpoints the most influential commenters, has announced plans to acquire software start-up Activeweave for the technology behind a browser plug-in it developed.

That chunk of code is BlogRovr, which produces content from pre-selected "favorite blogs" as Web sites are displayed; if the user loads eBay, for example, a BlogRovr tray within the window might display what tech blogs have been writing about the auction giant recently.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but BuzzLogic's motives were: It wants to apply the BlogRovr technology, which … Read more

Yahoo is set to report its first-quarter results on Tuesday, with Wall Street soothsayers predicting the company may ride the coattails of Google's phenomenal quarter.

And for Yahoo, such performance could assist it in capturing a higher buyout bid from Microsoft, which has been loath to up the ante without engaging in formal merger talks.

"We think that a big beat March quarter by Google should increase pressure for Microsoft to acquire Yahoo sooner. From Microsoft's perspective, Google has been growing very fast and no other company has been able to challenge Google to become a compelling … Read more

Without increasing its bid above $31 a share, a Microsoft proxy fight is likely to be a tough sell among at least one-fourth of Yahoo's institutional investors, say portfolio managers.

That figure does not include the more than 12 percent stake that Yahoo officers and directors held, as of the company's last proxy filing in April last year. Add that number into the mix and nearly one-third of Yahoo's shares, at a minimum, would likely oppose a Microsoft effort to unseat Yahoo's current board of directors via a proxy war.

"I'm not dying to … Read more

Blockbuster seemed to have no qualms about offering roughly $1 billion to buy up Circuit City stores, but it may not have the stomach for a protracted acquisition fight.

James Keyes, the CEO of video-rental giant Blockbuster, told The Wall Street Journal that his company would proceed with its takeover effort only if conditions are right and that it is loath to go through with a hostile bid. The threat of hostilities is looming, apparently, because Circuit City is not allowing easy access to its books.

"The heart of the matter is that we still need further facts," … Read more

Blogging software company Six Apart has announced a new "social media services" strategy that involves a new satellite office in New York, the acquisition of social-media consulting and development firm Apperceptive, and a new initiative to "provide new advertising, design, implementation, development and site optimization services to bloggers and companies of all sizes."

In other words, the company is moving beyond simply providing software, entering the lucrative business of bringing clients into gear with that whole "Web 2.0" thing that all the cool kids are talking about.

Six Apart, which operates blogging platforms … Read more

Software maker Six Apart has made a "significant" acquisition, according to sources cited by TechCrunch's Michael Arrington.

While the purchase may not be large in size, it possibly will mark a strategic shift for the company behind popular blogging platforms TypePad, Movable Type, and Vox, Arrington said, adding that an official announcement about the buy is due in the next few days.

It's anyone's guess which company Six Apart, which recently sold its LiveJournal unit and launched a Facebook application, may have picked up. Arrington's iPod Shuffle bait (that's the prize he says … Read more

After a quiet few weeks, Electronic Arts and its takeover target, Take-Two Interactive Software, are back to sparring.

The latest round between the video game makers got into full swing on Friday morning, with word from EA that it would extend its Friday deadline for buying up all Take-Two shares by a month, to May 16. But even as it gave with one hand, it took away with another: EA said it would trim the per-share offering price to $25.74 from $26, given newly OK'd stock grants to Take-Two's management, ZelnickMedia.

On Thursday, Take-Two shareholders approved a … Read more

Microsoft confirmed Thursday that it has acquired Seattle-based Farecast, a travel site that offers an engine predicting whether airfares for a given route are headed up or down.

"Farecast has been a partner of ours on MSN Travel and we look forward to working closely with the Farecast team to incorporate and apply its technology in new and interesting ways," Microsoft PR director Whitney Burk said in a statement.

The travel site's CEO, Hugh Crean, also posted a brief blog on Farecast's site announcing the sale to Microsoft, but adding few details.

"This acquisition creates … Read more

With Google blowing past Wall Street's numbers for the quarter Thursday, expectations may rise for Yahoo, which reports its first-quarter results next week.

Yahoo earlier told Wall Street that it expects to post revenue within its previously forecast range of $1.28 billion to $1.38 billion.

The question on investors minds is whether Yahoo on Tuesday will report results that are on the low end of the range, or the high end. Expectations for hitting the upper end may have just increased, given Google's performance for the quarter.

And as has been reported a number of times, … Read more