Comments on: Microsoft bids $44.6 billion for Yahoo

Offer--described by Yahoo as "unsolicited"--amounts to $31 per share, or a 62 percent premium above its closing stock price Thursday.

[thisislovell]

What?!!?!??!?!??!???

WHAT??!??@!??!@#??!#??!#?%???

That is all.

[gurfrip]

Deal is great for www.genusi.com

Good for the Internet, Great for Small Business and Enterprise. This deal will create more competition in the online marketplace by broadening Small Business Support.

The MSFT purchase of YHOO is critical to the US Cyber-Economy and United States Global Competiveness in Online Services.

It is great for genusi.com so I am biased for the deal but what is great for genusi.com is great for US Small Business.

So long as Microsoft/Yahoo allows smaller competing search engines free resources and a piece of the global search pie and does not prohibit them from profit.

Sincerely,


James Reginald Harris, jr.

[dsairai]

great news, now there is competition 4 google...

no more whinging and moanig by M$ if they get yahoo in their bag....

[n3td3v]

Google should watch out

they had already merged their Instant Messenger networks together.

we all knew big deals were in the pipe line.

Microsoft need this to fight Google and Yahoo need this to fight Google.

It all makes good business sense.

Google watch out... Yahoo are making a come back and they are gonna eat you up whole.

[pilaa]

Ooooooooohhhh I bet they're shaking in their boots!

Microsoft has had it coming for quite some time with their arrogance and bullying tactics. Its good for them to get a taste of their own medicine.

Apple, the Linux movement and Google are eating Microsoft alive and they know it. This just proves how desperate they are and how their Windows dominance isn't enough to keep these companies from reducing their significance as a technology leader and innovator.

Of course history, shows their true innovation contributions are, for the most part, acquired through acquisitions anyway...

[JCPayne]

Canceling my Email, Verizon-Yahoo! Geocities

I'm spending my Friday getting ready to cancel My Yahoo email addresses, My Verizon-Yahoo! DSL service. My Yahoo Geocities accounts and my old legacy Prodigy(AT&T)-Yahoo! email addresses today....

I had the chance to BUY Microsoft or AOL products and they didn't appeal to me so take the hint Microsoft and AOL. I went to Yahoo to escape those two companies and now they feel they can just swoop up my patronage??? I don't think so....

Everything Microsoft touches is a flop.

MSNBC, Hotmail, Microsoft Network (Since rebranded MSN), ZUNE (with it's restrictive policies over what people can do with their own music) etc.....

Anyway if Yahoo goes forward with this, by canceling my services with Yahoo I'll save myself almost $100 a month... I'm not keeping any so called "Microsoft-Yahoo" stuff....

Also has anyone else noticed the HUGE spike in Spam on Yahoo Instant Messenger since Yahoo started to make it interoperable with Microsoft's messenger??? SPAMMERS love when two networks get together like that, because they can spam double the people in one network using a single app.

Microsoft-Yahoo? Heck it wont get my blessing or my $$$$.

[Gasaraki]

Just give it up

Tired of hearing people QQ about how M$ is all evil and everything that's wrong int he world is their fault.

[tdaloisio]

That's a little overdramatic

Microsoft isn't nearly as evil as most people think and others aren't nearly as good as people would like to believe. I think the consolidation of Yahoo's strengths in Internet development and Microsoft's in software and services could yield better products from both. At least that's the optimist in me.

[SystemsJunky]

Good for you

Go somewhere else, knowone really cares..

Everything MS touches is a flop huh?
How about building an entire market built around open hardware...
How about windows - It may do a poor job at some things - but not everything - and the mac still is no threat.

Zune is a great product - what restrictions do you speak of? I've had two ipods and 2 Zune's- The Zune is handsdown better IMO...

Good luck with ditching it...

[paulsecic]

Yagoogle

cancel

[andywudude]

"Everything Microsoft touches is a flop???"

Yeah, who's even heard of Windows, Office, XBOX, etc.???

You have to be joking! Sure, some of Microsoft's products are better than others; no company will be able to create the #1 product in all categories. However, nobody can deny the success of Microsoft (overall).

Have fun canceling!

[oxtail01]

boo hoo hoo

Stop crying and don't be idiotic. MS has a long history of plundering other's ideas and folding it in to their domain. They're pretty smart in keeping what's good so what makes you think they're going to mess with Yahoo so much? Also, your $$$$ don't count for much to MS since it's more like 0.00000000000cents and they don't worry that there are that many idiots like you.

[Maclover1]

It was written all over the wall

that this was going to happen. First the IM merger stuff to help fight off Google/AIM.

MS has been trying so hard to break the Google grip on the search market buying Yahoo only helps that.

To be honest Yahoo employees should be happy. Yahoo was going down, MS should have waited for the fire sale, but was probably worried Google would buy them. Yahoo offered nothing really anymore that Google or MS already have.

ATT could have bought them, to get the email and such since they use them for all of their customers. Oh well it will just be hotmail now.

Time to switch my only remaining Yahoo app to
Google...gtalk here i come.

[fred dunn]

How's Googles Stock Value Reacting to this?

This would be a good thing for both MS and Yahoo but definitely not Google.

I am going to be interested to see the stock value of Google as this plays on.

I'll bet that Google stock will go to "hold" status until the merger (if it occurs) is complete. This could take some time but both companies needed each other in a bad way. This would be such a perfect match, and a way to keep Yahoo alive.

If MS & Yahoo do what I think they are capable of then you'd better start selling your Google stock now.

One thing that could throw a wrench into the works is if MS decides to rid itself of the Yahoo name, then all bets are off.

[Penguinisto]

Probably won't even budge.

The reason why is simple... this merger would first have to be
approved by gov't regulators in the US, EU, and various Asian
governments.

Micrsofot (more specifically Steve Ballmer) is getting desperate.
MSN sucks. Vista sucks. Office 2k7 is mediocre at best. All the
buzz, growth, and future excitement comes from places like
Apple, Canonical, Google... not Microsoft.

Google is into buying radio spectrum, and its GMail service now
eclipses Hotmail for average (not spam) usage. In less than a
year, Apple now sells more smartphones in North America than
those built with Windows CE/Mobile - and Windows CE/Mobile
has been in that market for years now. In less than six years,
RedHat has gone from being a hobbyist's company, to being the
second largest server OS provider - if not the largest. Nintendo's
Wii stomped all over XBox last year in the ultimate 'comeback
kid' story.

What has Microsoft done in the past five years? Err, released a
widely-hated OS version and temporarily got the #1 slot with
that loss-leader of a game console called XBox.

Basically, Microsoft went from 'will be' to 'has been', and Ballmer
knows it. He needs something - anything - to get the buzz
going again in his favor. IMHO, I don't think this will be it, and
he'll have to settle for being #2 - again.

/P

[lordeagle]

Shareholder's scare

Looks like the shareholders are scared (or switching to buy Yahoo shares that were much lower than MS's offering price of $31...hoping to make assured profit on those). Anyways, Google's stock is trading 50points below (almost -9%) as I write this.

Microsoft and Yahoo have been playing the catch-up game for the past few years. Google is always a step ahead of them: think Gmail, Google Earth/Maps, their "Docs" application, the Open Mobile platform thingy...which looks even more promising after yesterday's news regarding open access to the "C" block of the 700MHz. And Micrahoo (lol. I'm gonna coin that) is still trying to catch up with the Docs application.

So anyways, I think Google's future is very bright, and this is a momentary sale while investors make quick money in the Yahoo shares.

[naterandrews]

Anti-competitive?

With Microsoft now being watched for anti-competitive behaviors until 2009 this could spark some interesting controversy. With two of the top presences on the internet this deal may not go through- especially since MSFT recently aquired Aquantive, a few other ad agencies, and launched massive deals for ads. Couple that with Yahoo! (sure, they aren't that powerful in ads but they do have a strong presence in recurring revenue markets and a large user base to turn around their situation if handled correctly) and I see some concern raised by not only Google but a handful of other companies.

Me thinks that Microsoft was getting tired of playing the "gentle giant" card after showing it can at least TRY to remain competitive- but with Google (up until now) reporting astronomical growth, they are backed into a corner and are on the prowl for blood. Will this be the start of a new downward spiral for Microsoft (in terms of anti-trust suits all over again)?

[nmcphers]

hostile bid

It was a hostile bid I believe. Yahoo should have been the one to make the announcement. Microsoft announcing it puts pressure on YAHOO to accept because yahoo's stock will respond favorably, and it will give the industry the impression that yahoo is weakened and must merge or risk going out of business. If yahoo rejects the bid, or the merger is denied for anti-competitive reasons, Microsoft still wins. Yahoo's value will plummet, and they'll only have Google to compete with.

This was not a merger announcement. It was an offer announcement. Made by the company making the offer. It is as much a psychological play as it is a financial one.

[rcrusoe]

Probably won't change a thing

On one hand you have Microsoft who has proven time and again
they haven't got a clue when it comes to search.

On the other you have Yahoo who has been in a steady decline
for years and hasn't got a clue when it comes to improving their
search.

What good will combining them do except give Microsoft the
bragging rights that they are now a distant second in search
rather than a distant fourth.

Assuming they keep the Yahoo brand. If they don't, IMO, they
won't gain a thing.

[nmcphers]

Yes it will

You said it yourself. They will now be second instead of forth. Why would the quality of the search matter? Has Microsoft ever lead you to believe that their purpose in any area is anything other than market share? They are not expecting the technology of both companies to innovate them to the number one spot. They'll acquire whoever and whatever it takes to get there.

[informvarma]

Interesting statement

"Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition," Microsoft said.

--
Thats an interesting statement considering what they are doing at the desktop market.

[technewsjunkie]

M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y

If you can't make a better product BUY it.

Microsoft will own the Internet...
It owns the Browser, Office, and the desktop OS.

Too much control, and poor quality products.

[lordeagle]

NO-MORE-POLY

Google dominates the search market with 51.3%. Yahoo was like 18% and MS some 13%...together they'll still lag behind Google.

Monopoly is when you have no alternative, and the company abuses that position. Well there ARE alternatives: I use Firefox, search on Google, use Gmail...then MSN (sorry Live Messenger). There's plenty of choices out there.

Microsoft is doing a desperate move, and I don't think Yahoo is worth the $44B.

[socialgear]

Great Strategy

With all the hype about Facebook, Yahoo's value is weighted in gold, great strategy from Microsoft

[fred dunn]

Agree...

enough said.

[J_Satch]

Even Better Strategy

Wouldn't it really be great if Microsoft did something unusual and focused on operating system software? :)

Anybody in Redmond remember that stuff that makes the computer operate? Wouldn't it be cool if it could make the computer operate better?

[Jim Harmon]

Same old MS strategy...

If you can't beat'em, buy'em.

Yes, this is a move to become more competitve with Google. However, with the exception of the search engine Yahoo has it all over Google when it comes to the other services available.

[KEVIN A LUCAS]

PLEASE BECAREFUL YAHOO

MICROSOFT AND BILL GATES CANT EVEN MAKE A STABLE OPERATING SYSTEM (VISTA) NOW THEY WANT TO RUIN YAHOO! YAHOO DONT DO IT ITS BEEN A GOOD SERVICE FOR YEARS WITHOUT MICROSOFT...........

[Gunady]

OK, let's talk about Vista..

LOL, any news that has Microsoft or Apple in it, but has no relation to Vista, people will keep mentioning about Vista. Which OS that is stable in the first year?

[new_media_works]

Good Summary - how will IAC, NewsCorp, etc. respond?

Also: How will CNet respond?

;D nmw

ps: very good reporting here (APPLAUSE) :)

[Rusty Digital Marketing]

Analysis: YaSoft! Good / MicroHoo! Bad

There are enormous synergies in this merger, and many benefits for advertisers.

Yahoo! has a strong consumer franchise, and technically very strong search and advertising match capabilities.

Yahoo! is let down by unfriendly and inefficient processes and services for its advertisers, however, which is why it generates advertising revenues, but is not great at generating good profits.

Digital Marketing blog - YaSoft! or MicroHoo! ?

[Jon N.]

Apple, are you listening?

IMHO, I would really like to see Apple, Inc. offer all people/Platforms/PC's the opportunity to subscribe to their .mac service. It would be a great time for this, and after any M$ acquisition of AT&T/Yahoo would even be better. If it happens (G-d forbid!), I hope it happens before my contract ends. Even if it doesn't, I'm looking for a new DSL service when my contract ends. This is most disappointing news. I, for one, thought that Yahoo was in better shape, especially with their merger with AT&T.

[lordeagle]

The real Apple blow

Now that Apple's been working on the Intel platform for a while, the one blow that would hurt Microsoft more than anything, would be for Apple to release Mac OS for the PC (I know there's a lot of drivers involved...but technically you could use the drivers made for FreeBSD, at least a good chunk of them).

Probably 70-80% of people running Vista (that includes me) would rush out and get a really good OS. It wouldn't affect businesses right away, but it would after a while. That would be a definite blow to MS... but I'm wondering if Apple will ever be interested in owning such a large market share (I think they're like the Marines: "the few, the proud, the Apple-users"), and if the deal they have with Microsoft for Office on the Mac doesn't involve a promise from Apple NOT to bring OS X to the PCs.

I think we're in for a pretty interesting couple of years.

[Danathar]

Google is NOT technically a monopoly

I kinda take issue with the poll question using the word "Monopoly"
in regards to google. Not that I'm taking sides here, but "Monopoly"
is strictly defined and Google does not force anybody to use their
products. If a better search engine came along I'd use it.

[jessiethe3rd]

Monopoly by definition

Is market share and compeition.

[cybervigilante]

It's not a monopoly if people want it

People want to have one good search engine as long as they play fair and don't corrupt their rankings. I remember when there were a dozen anemic search engines and flitting back and forth between them was just a big pain in the ass. Computers are supposed to simplify things, not make them harder to do.

Besides, everything Msoft does sucks. If Apple bought Yahoo it might make sense since they actually have some creativity and vision. Msoft will no doubt try to "bundle" their search with essential OS components that won't work witout it so they can shove and inferior search down your throat. Don't think they won't try it because it Did work before. With all the lawsuits and troubles, What browser is still dominant? They have plenty of lawyers to fence while they corner the search market with an OS stranglehold.

[The_Decider]

Typical Microsoft

Shortsighted, non-innovative and lazy.

MS overpaid by a large amount for Aquantive, it hasn't done much so far for the clueless and hapless MS. If Google hadn't gone after Double Click, MS wouldn't have made this deal. It is a classic case of the pathetic "keeping up with the Joneses".

Now to keep up(yet again) with a company who really isn't in the same business as MS, they want to massively overpay for a company in decline?

This makes sense only at MS. Google is not a threat to MS, in fact they are not in the same business.

Microsoft has this pathological need to squash any successful company that is anywhere near where MS lives.

Instead of trying to pay to keep your outdated and dying model going a little bit longer, they might as well start producing innovative work that people want as opposed to the crap they have now that requires unethical and pathetic lock in schemes to keep the money flowing.

Google has many problems, but at least they are still agile, can produce products and services people actually want.

Until MS figures out they will have to work to stay on top, they will be in decline, overpaying for lame companies is not the answer.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Thoughtful comments

Your comments were well laid out and I have to commend you for them. When you choose to post in a respectable manner, your statements can make a whole lot more sense than they would otherwise.

As for this Yahoo deal- I'd wait and see what happens. Apparently investors like the deal a lot to see Yahoo's stock go up so fast. Some of that is opportunistic, but since any purchase would be a year away, that's a long time to wait to trade for profits on those stocks.

By the way, Apple is considered a successful company and MS isn't going after them or to try and squash them. MS is going after markets that they are interested in. Things change.

"they might as well start producing innovative work that people want as opposed to the crap they have now that requires unethical and pathetic lock in schemes to keep the money flowing."

Heh, that describes the iPhone exactly to a T. MS isn't the only one that does this apparently. I'd be curious to see what sorts of Apple / Google link there will be next. Apple will need to do something or be left out in the cold.

[J. Blow]

Wrong Douche bag

Microsoft has a COMMERCIAL need to squash anyone who gets near them. That's what people get paid to do at all companies.

For some reason some people insist on thinking that once a company gets to a certain size that they are supposed to sort of let competition bloom. Wrong! All company officers are legally obligated to grow their companies or get fired.

[www.hdgreetings.com]

Move Fast

The key will be how fast they can integrate and gain synergies.

For example, will they be able quickly offer single sign in for all services via Open ID?

Many small things like this done quickly can add up to benefits users will care about.

[Renegade Knight]

The Othe Shoe Drops

MS rantings about Google become null and void when MS has exactly the same aspirations.