Is Microhoo silence a sign of progress?

When Microsoft and Yahoo were basically not speaking to one another, there was plenty of chatter and posturing from both sides.

Since that primping and posturing has largely died down (save Yahoo's recent road show with investors), does that mean the two companies are finally getting down to business?

Now it could be that the two companies have nothing to say because each is waiting for the other. But even that would be something to talk about. What makes companies really quiet is when there is something, but things are still fragile. I'm not claiming inside info on this, just saying that the silence has been eerie, particularly since the two sides had a preliminary meeting two weeks ago and then Yahoo went on its "Why we're worth more" road show.

There have been plenty of reporters and analysts arguing that Microsoft and Yahoo should just get on with it, the logic being that Yahoo doesn't really have any better offers and Microsoft can afford an extra billion or two, if necessary, to get a deal done.

At the same time, there are some factors that have set the stage for this slow-motion stage fight. One is that Microsoft, while definitely interested in Yahoo, does not appear interested in bidding against itself.

Kara Swisher notes that raising one's own bid may help win a charity auction, but it is not a very good strategy at a charity auction or when running a big business. And as those in the Microsoft camp point out, every dollar a share Microsoft were to add to its offer translates to well north of a billion dollars.

Yahoo, meanwhile, lifted the only pressing time limit when it delayed the deadline for nominating directors.

Here's the rub though: Microsoft says it's buying Yahoo to compete with Google. Every day that goes by is a day where Google is continuing to kick both company's online rears and the two companies are left to pursue their separate strategies. It's going to take time for a deal to get done even assuming they can come to terms, and then time once the deal gets done to get rid of all the overlap and get folks working on new projects.

The question is how much Microsoft values that time. The answer depends on just what kind of silence we are hearing.

[miroslodki]

Time is relative

Ina <br />Agree with most of what you say<br />but remember that the time it takes today is immaterial<br /><br />Microsoft is looking at this as a lifelong investment and profit stream in the new web 2.0 world<br /><br />so a month, two, four, ten - matters not<br /><br />nor does the "delay" give Google any longterm advantage<br /><br />anyhow that's my PoV<br />cheers<br />Miro<br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://miroslodki.wordpress.com" target="_newWindow">http://miroslodki.wordpress.com</a>

[ti55]

That's why they make placebos.

Even if the merger never progresses beyond the mere gossip that it is now, the discussion it created alone has reinvigorated (albeit temporarily) both franchises; all done with smoke &#38; mirrors. Microsoft has successfully pulled a Britney, without losing its superior credibilty. WTG, Bill - long live the king!

[ynotbecreative]

Objective

I wish c|net were not trying to push this merger. Back when UUNet was <br />up for sale, both Qwest and Verizon were bidding on it. Qwest made <br />offers for it that were bigger, but when the deal was looked at closely, <br />the merger with Qwest would have resulted in customers of UUNet <br />walking away because of the great disdain of Qwest as a carrier. This <br />merger attempt is the same. Microsoft would kill Yahoo, maybe not <br />directly, but indirectly, it would be a short amount of time before <br />Microsoft would decimate it and all it had grown up to be.<br /><br />A Microsoft - Yahoo merger would not be good for anyone other than <br />Microsoft. Microsoft has every ability to bring themselves on par with <br />Yahoo, if they truly wanted to, but the fact is Microsoft does nothing for <br />itself - it only buys companies and tries to merge the new company with <br />its own ways, which ruins what made the original company successful. <br />Microsoft has never known how to truly innovate anything - they only <br />buy innovators and think by owning them they are as good as the original <br />company.

[MMC Racing]

What you say is silly

If everyone runs away from Yahoo (devaluing it), how does that help Microsoft? Would that not help Google more?<br /><br />What makes more sense is Microsoft will preserve everything good about Yahoo, cut the rest, and integrate some of the better Microsoft properties.

[KTWinATL]

Yahoo Is Already Changing

I'm ready to be it's a done deal. I got an e-mail from Yahoo today, saying they were deleting my mature username account. This is an account I had over 3 years and I'm not the only one. Anyone on Yahoo who had their username marked for mature content received the same letter.<br /><br />Looks like they're trying to cleaning things up for MS. Next all the adult groups on Yahoo will be gone.

[MMC Racing]

Is this story a sign of a slow news day....

I think so.. :)