Report: Ballmer says Yahoo announcement coming 'in very short order'

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says he knows exactly what Yahoo is worth and isn't willing to go a dime over that, Silicon Alley Insider reported Thursday.

Ballmer, speaking to Microsoft employees in a so-called town hall conference call Thursday, also said an announcement regarding Yahoo is coming "in very short order," the blog site reported. But what he meant by that is unclear, since he also noted that he had "nothing to say today." A reporter for Silicon Alley Insider apparently listened in on the call.

Balllmer says he knows what Yahoo is worth.

(Credit: Dan Farber/CNET News.com)

Ballmer also didn't put a price tag to what he thinks Yahoo is worth, but his comments may indicate that talks between the two companies are still going on. The Yahoo comments came up during a question-and-answer session in which he reiterated Microsoft's three options: Make a friendly deal, go hostile, or walk away.

The Microsoft chief exec also explained to his employees that Microsoft needs Yahoo in order to gain scale in the online market. "(Yahoo) accelerates scale. Gets us more advertisers, gets us search. Yahoo's not a strategy. It's a part of a strategy. We're interested in paying for it at some level, and beyond that level we're not willing to pay for it," Ballmer said, according to Alley Insider.

Interestingly, Ballmer seems to believe that on the Internet, many people would think of his company as the underdog as it tries to play catchup with Google. "The world," he said, "is rooting for us."

[FpLiOnYkD]

"The world is rooting for us."

Um, I don't think so.

[BlackMicro]

I rooting for em'...

to go out of business. :)

[The_Decider]

Sure they are

everyone but Ballmer knows that going into debt for Yahoo will cripple them for many years to come.

Most people want that.

[lkrupp]

Right!

"The world," he said, "is rooting for us."

And people complain about Steve Jobs' RDF (reality distortion field).
My god, what parallel universe does this guy live in?

[Penguinisto]

The world is laughing at them :)

Win or lose, they're screwed on this one.

If they win, they'll have to face a thicket of massive expense and a horde of top talent fleeing the company. The integration alone will be a massive headache, and the results will probably leave Google with a bigger marketshare than ever before.

If they lose, word will be official that Microsoft is no longer the feared and invincible corporate force that it once was.

/P

[JCPayne]

Good. Let them walk away and the rest of us on the 'net can

get on the better stuff.

[JCPayne]

Good. Let them walk away and the rest of us on the 'net can

get on to the better stuff.

[emancipated]

Yahoo, Microsoft Overpays for ?

Yahoo stock price was below $20 / share at the time of the offer. Yahoo's exec.manager(?) wants more money, next ...

Microsoft made overtures to yahoo for how many months (years?) on the concept? It's business, not religion guys.

It's costing Yahoo money & marketshare to play their game. Yahoo's direction, PR(?), antics, etc are tiring. I trust Microsoft will lower the offer price before going hostile.

[benjaminstraight]

benjamin straight writes: We will see what happens.