microsoft-yahoo

Ballmer and Bostock break bread

Well, it's official, Microsoft and Yahoo have come to an agreement.

On lunch.

As first noted by Valleywag, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock had lunch together this week in New York. The New York Times has a lengthy piece up now as well, confirming the meeting, but offering no clue as to what happened beyond, presumably, caloric consumption.

In any case, it's the second high-level contact this week, given that incoming Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told employees that she, too, had talked with Ballmer.

Microsoft has made it clear in every way imaginable that … Read more

Will Yahoo CEO move pave way for Microhoo?

Updated 10:10 p.m., with additional comments from a source.

While it's not certain that the appointment of Carol Bartz will ensure a Yahoo-Microsoft deal happens, one thing is clear: nothing was going to happen until Yahoo picked its new chief executive.

With reports that Yahoo is going to name the former Autodesk chief to fill Jerry Yang's spot, discussion logically shifts to whether the long-anticipated Microsoft-Yahoo search deal will now come to fruition.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has repeatedly said that he remains interested in a search partnership, but noted in an interview last week that … Read more

Report: Investment group teeing up Yahoo deal

Update January 8 at 12:44 p.m. PST: Added Yahoo's response.

A group of investors are reportedly putting together a buyout deal for Yahoo, which would call for Microsoft's financial backing, according to a report in TechCrunch.

Such an arrangement would call for the investment group to pay a premium of approximately 20 percent to Yahoo's current share price, which closed Wednesday at $13 a share, for the entire company.

The investment group would take Yahoo, which would have a $20 billion market cap under those terms, and simultaneously sell its search and marketing business to … Read more

Google up, Microsoft down in November Web searches

Searches at Microsoft's Windows Live Search site dropped again in November from a year ago while Google's continued to rise, according to Nielsen Online figures released on Monday.

Searches at Windows Live Search fell 16.7 percent year-over-year, giving Microsoft 9.1 percent market share in the U.S. in November.

Google's searches rose 21.7 percent, for 64.1 percent market share, and Yahoo's searches dropped 1.4 percent from November 2007, for 16.1 percent share.

Total searches for the month exceeded 8 billion, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier.

In October, … Read more

The Digital Home 43: Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google, oh my!

In his latest episode, Don Reisinger discusses the value of Yahoo's search to Microsoft and explores why Google and others might have a vested interest. After that, he chats with Broadcom and discusses the economy's impact on tech.

And as always, follow him on Twitter!

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 43 … Read more

Report: Yahoo investor urges Microsoft search deal

A major Yahoo shareholder is reportedly pushing for the company to renew discussion with Microsoft for a deal over its search business, CNBC reported Wednesday.

Ivory Investment Management, a hedge fund based in Los Angeles that owns 1.5 percent of Yahoo, is expected to release a letter Wednesday outlining its plan, which could result in as much as $15 billion from Microsoft, CNBC said.

Officials from Ivory could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Microsoft-Yahoo saga has been a long one. Last month, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer finally said that the company was "done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo,&… Read more

It's official: Qi Lu to head Microsoft's online effort

Microsoft is indeed hiring former Yahoo executive Qi Lu to run its online services business, but in the process, it is also losing one of its own top advertising executives.

In its announcement of Lu as the president of Microsoft's online services group, Microsoft said that Brian McAndrews, former CEO of Aquantive, would be leaving Microsoft. McAndrews was seen as the top internal candidate for the post, which came open when Kevin Johnson left to become CEO of Juniper Networks.

Lu will start at Microsoft on January 5 and will report to Steve Ballmer, Microsoft said.

"I am … Read more

Report: Former Yahoo exec to be Microsoft online chief

Microsoft's efforts to acquire one Yahoo employee at a time appear to be working.

As has been rumored for a while now, former Yahoo search executive Qi Lu is expected to be named head of Microsoft's online efforts, according to a report on All Things D.

All Things D's Kara Swisher says the announcement could come as early as Monday, though some details remain to be worked out, such as whether Lu, whose experience is largely on the technical side, would be paired with one of Microsoft's business executives.

Former Aquantive CEO Brian McAndrews was considered … Read more

Report: DOJ was hours from filing Google suit

It is widely known that Google pulled the plug on the search advertising deal with Yahoo only because it appeared that it would face a regulatory challenge. However, it emerged on Wednesday just how close the company came to facing an antitrust suit from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sandy Litvack, the lawyer hired by the Justice Department to look into the search advertising pact between Google and Yahoo, said in an interview with American Lawyer's AmLaw Daily that the government had a suit ready and was just three hours away from filing it.

"We were going … Read more

Microsoft, Yahoo said in talks on search deal

Updated 6:15 AM PST November 30

According to one report, Yahoo and Microsoft may once again be working on a search deal.

The Times of London reported this weekend that Microsoft is in talks to acquire Yahoo's search business for $20 billion. According to the paper, former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and fomer Fox Interactive President Ross Levinsohn are set to head the effort.

"Senior directors at Microsoft and Yahoo are understood to have agreed the broad terms of a deal, but there is no guarantee that it will succeed," The Times said in its report. … Read more