yahoo-microsoft

The dirt on Microsoft's bid for Yahoo!

The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed account of Microsoft's talks with Yahoo!, and the reasons for the fall-out. One of the juicier bits is that Ballmer blamed the bankers involved for "screw[ing] everything up."

Perhaps. But reading through the wreckage, it seems much more likely that the gamesmanship on both sides ultimately resulted in both companies losing. Microsoft still lacks a compelling voice on the web, and Yahoo!...well, Yahoo! increasingly does, too.

"They believed that we needed them much more than they needed us," one person close to Microsoft says. "… Read more

Daily Debrief: Figuring out Yahoo, Post-reorg

We got an earful from Yahoo insiders earlier Thursday on their plans post-reorg. Now, the $64,00 question is whether any of this is going to make a difference. All the while, Steve Ballmer's waiting in the wings with a big fat Microsoft checkbook, debating whether or not to make another stab at acquiring Yahoo's search business.

For Jerry Yang and Sue Decker, these are interesting times. And now that they have the team and the structure they say they want, the world will be watching for results. For a good rundown of the changes and what they … Read more

News.com Daily Podcast: After the Yahoo reorg, now what?

Yahoo announced its long-awaited reorganization Thursday. Jerry Yang and Sue Decker are still are in charge. But there's been a shift to three main teams aimed to improve products and speed decision-making inside a company slowed down by bureaucratic dawdling. CNET News.com's Editor in Chief Dan Farber assesses the changes

Will history repeat itself? Microsoft sure hopes so. The company's finally getting into the virtualization market, albeit relatively late. That doesn't faze senior management and News.com's Ina Fried explains why.

In the 1960s, Lawrence Roberts invented computer networking via data packets, which led … Read more

After Yahoo reorg, will Microsoft go to Defcon 1?

For the first time in several months, Jerry Yang can exhale. Though not for very long.

Now the countdown really begins. The long-term question: Will any of this effect substantive positive change? The short-term question: Will Steve Ballmer decide to return to the negotiating table. More about that in a moment.

The new management structure announced today by Yahoo may not please everyone--and don't expect cartwheels from Carl Icahn--but it relieves some of the immediate pressure on Yang and Sue Decker, who were being pressed by unhappy shareholders to shake things up.

The folks still out for executive scalps … Read more

The Microhoo debate rages on

Don't you just love when the one person who didn't want anything to do with you suddenly needs you? Well, in today's crazy online world, that's exactly what's going on with Jerry Yang and Microsoft. Just a few months ago, Yang was doing everything he could to turn Microsoft away. And now, he needs to do everything he can to bring them back.

If you haven't been following the latest on the Yahoo front, the company's stock price has plummeted (it's at $21.61 right now, way down from its $29 share price back in February); executives are getting out of town as quickly as possible as a reorganization gets underway; Carl Icahn is exerting unbelievable pressure on Yang; and shareholder confidence in Yahoo is dropping by the minute.

All the while, Yang has tried to save what's left of his bleeding company, but to no avail. Unless something major happens soon, Yahoo will be far beyond the point of saving and although the very thought of selling the company to Microsoft runs against Yang's own principles, what other option does he have?

In order to save Yahoo and maybe walk away with some cash himself, Yang has no other choice but to strike a deal with Microsoft and walk away from this albatross. And although Microsoft was willing to offer a substantial premium on the stock price, which saw the value reach into the mid-thirties per share, don't expect anything of the sort this time around.

Based on the financial health of the company, the incredible internal problems, and the fact that Yang no longer holds any leverage, I don't see Microsoft offering more than $25 per share.… Read more

EIC Squared podcast: Yahoo + Google and the 3G iPhone

In this week's EIC Squared podcast, ZDNet's Larry Dignan and I discuss the two big stories of the week--Yahoo hooking up with Google and the introduction Apple's 3G iPhone launch.

The battle for Yahoo's soul

Yahoo CEO and founder Jerry Yang "bleeds purple." Microsoft wanted to take control of his purple blood in its quest to compete with Google. Carl Icahn may want a plain old bloodletting. The corporate raider could send Yang packing or confine him to the boardroom if he continues with his effort to get a dissident slate elected to Yahoo's board of directors at an upcoming shareholder meeting.

Thursday, Yang took a stand, announcing talks with Microsoft about any kind of transaction have concluded and inking a non-exclusive search deal with Google. If Icahn's was intent on … Read more

Now it's all on Jerry Yang's shoulders

Now it's make-or-break time for Jerry Yang.

If his gambit succeeds, Yang will be feted as the second coming of Steve Jobs, reviving the glory of a one-time technology bellwether. If not, he'll join Terry Semel and Tim Koogle on the roster of failed Yahoo CEOs.

Earlier Thursday, Yahoo announced that Microsoft was no longer interested in pursuing a deal. Into the breach steps Google CEO Eric Schmidt with a search advertising arrangement that could be worth as much as $800 million to Yahoo.

•  During the first year after implementation, Yahoo expects the deal to generate an … Read more

News.com Daily Podcast: How cities are taking on climate change

Cities' green action plans; Yahoo loses a couple of prominent employees; and Republican and Democrats cast a vote for Microsoft.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

City governments' response to climate change ranges from cutting-edge distributed energy to adding more bike lanes and trees. Climate change experts from four cities--London, Toronto, Chicago, and New York--spoke at the Mass Impact Symposium Monday in Cambridge, Mass., and CNET News.com intern Holly Jackson had the chance to chat with reporter Martin LaMonica about what they said.

Plus, Yahoo loses a couple of high-level employees--and it's getting set to announce a deal … Read more