acquisition

When it comes to technology-related mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter, think "still waters run deep."

According to a first quarter M&A spending report released Friday by The 451 Group, proposed technology deals totaled $92 billion in the three-month period for 778 deals, down a notch from $100 billion in the same period a year ago for 1,059 transactions.

But keep in mind, and rightly so, Microsoft's initial blockbuster $44.6 billion buyout bid for Yahoo, accounts for nearly half of the technology M&A deals proposed in the quarter.

"Although … Read more

Microsoft and Yahoo executives took another run at trying to ignite formal merger talks this week, but failed to kick it into gear, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Apparently, Microsoft says no dice to raising its buyout bid and Yahoo remains hesitant to open its books without a bump up in price, according to sources cited in the Journal.

Although it's unclear which executives are doing the merger dance, the meeting was held near Yahoo's headquarters, the report states.

The parties last talked four weeks ago, marking the end of what had been six … Read more

This post was updated at 9:45am EDT with comment from Google.

Will eBay sell Skype to Google?

It's no secret that many in Silicon Valley regard eBay's 2005 acquisition of the telephony service as a $2.6 billion misstep. But new rumors, reported late Tuesday night on TechCrunch, suggest that eBay may be negotiating Skype-related partnerships with Google or even selling it outright.

"We do not comment on market rumor or speculation regarding acquisitions," a Google representative told CNET News.com in an e-mail. "Generally speaking we are constantly in discussions about potential partnerships … Read more

Microsoft's quest for Yahoo may come under increasing pressure this month, as time ticks away to get a deal done and past antitrust regulators, before President George W. Bush exits stage left, said proxy solicitors and investment bankers.

That's because it typically takes anywhere from six to eight months to move a merger deal through the Hart-Scott-Rodino process and beyond, said one former, high-level antitrust attorney with the Department of Justice, who is now in private practice.

A spokeswoman for the DOJ noted that while the agency has previously stated it would be interested in looking at a … Read more

Yahoo's stock price is beating a little stronger these days. And that rise was not necessarily driven by the full onslaught of the company's big, splashy, three-year financial game plan unveiled two weeks ago, say several hedge fund managers.

Rather, the 12 percent share price increase over the past fortnight may stem from Yahoo's quiet notation in that financial game plan that the company's first-quarter performance is expected to fall in line with Wall Street's current assessment.

"Their stock price has risen, not because of their plan, but because they reaffirmed their first-quarter guidance,&… Read more

Electronic Arts has amended its takeover offer for smaller video-game publisher Take-Two Interactive.

According to an EA representative and an EA filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the offer has been extended to Friday, April 18, instead of Friday, April 11. (EA's own press release incorrectly states that April 18 is a Wednesday. Oops.)

In addition, EA added a new condition to its offer: Take-Two must chuck its "poison pill" shareholder rights plan designed to deter the takeover.

Earlier this week, Take-Two officially rejected EA's bid, adopted the poison pill, and moved its annual … Read more

Women's-focused media and advertising company Glam Media has acquired StyleMob, a small social-media site consisting of a blog and some community features pertaining to fashion. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The rumor was first reported in Valleywag earlier on Thursday, where blogger Nicholas Carlson added that StyleMob's founders "weren't happy" about the acquisition. Glam Media recently raised significant venture funding and hinted that it would go in part toward purchasing smaller companies.

StyleMob, centered on "street fashion" rather than the runways of Paris and Milan, had already been a part of Glam's … Read more

Publishing giant Hearst Magazines announced on Wednesday plans to acquire Answerology, a New York-based start-up that offers a question-and-answer service for relationship advice. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but PaidContent reported that it was in the seven figures.

Matthew Milner, Answerology's founder, will be brought on board Hearst as vice president of community and social media in the conglomerate's Hearst Magazines Digital Media unit.

Answerology's schtick is that it allows users to ask anonymous questions about family, marriage, dating, and other heated subjects pertaining to relationships, and those questions can be targeted toward select … Read more

Not everyone at AOL was in favor of plunking down $850 million for social network Bebo, the Silicon Alley Insider reported Thursday.

Citing anonymous sources, editor Henry Blodget said a number of senior managers at the struggling dot-com thought--and still think--that Bebo won't turn out to be an ad revenue treasure trove.

Executives at several key AOL divisions, including Advertising.com, the Platform-A ad network, and the Userplane chat software product, were not consulted on the acquisition, according to Blodget's sources. "Our sources believe that Ron (Grant, chief operating officer of AOL), at least, was aware that … Read more