12 replies to this topic

[Chad]

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.'s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets.

Because there is no such thing as having too much power, or money

[Dave]

I offered a fair price for Yahoo too. A box of cookies and 12 singles. I think my offer is closer to Yahoo's real market value.

Very little of what Yahoo does is their own. They're a bloated content provider--...er content accumulator. They don't produce most of the content they put up (mostly licensed stuff from other existing content providers who have sites in their own right, or stuff pulled from the news wires). Their directory became obsolete in the late 90s (if not earlier). Google stole the search engine market by virtue of a better product. Their email is slow. Their web hosting is overpriced. What is it that Yahoo does well?

[jeckles]

What is it that Yahoo does well?

Instant Messaging.

And while their email does suck, it is much better than Hotmail.

MS would happily pay billions to upgrade their existing Search, Internet Mail and Instant Messaging capabilities.

[erikko]

and as what expected, Yahoo rejected Microsoft's offer. Read on <MOD EDIT/>

Please review the forum rules

You may NOT post a link to any external site UNTIL you have at least 30 posts.

Edited by Chad, 11 February 2008 - 05:57 PM.

[Dave]

Not only did they reject the offer, they said it was too low.

From AP:
"Yahoo said its board had concluded Microsoft's unsolicited offer "substantially undervalues" the Sunnyvale-based company. Yahoo Inc. spurned Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid as inadequate Monday, betting that it can elicit a higher offer from the world's largest software maker."

Microsoft's offer was about $31 per share. According to Forbes: "Yahoo shares were up 1.4% to $29.59 in recent trades. The stock closed at $19.18 on Jan. 31 in the session prior to the bid's disclosure." Microsoft probably could've bought up craploads of stock at $20 and taken over the company for less. I guess they still could at $30.

@jeckles: yeah, I guess the improved search is worth it. Then they can power MSN Search off of Yahoo (sort of like the way Yahoo did with Google until Google decided to take over the world). And I guess Yahoo's advertising partnerships are supposed to be good...but if they were that good, Yahoo wouldn't be in the trouble it's in.

[Bacony Goodness]

Google loves us Dave.

[Deb]

The good news is that Yahoo breaks with alarming regularity already so Microsoft can't mess it up anymore than we're already used to.

[Dave]

The latest:
"Word of Yahoo being in clandestine talks with News Corp. surfaced Wednesday as the Internet giant laid off workers and chief executive Jerry Yang urged stockholders to have faith in the firm and its leaders."

"On Tuesday, Yahoo began layoffs of about 1,000 people, seven percent of its workforce, which it announced last month to streamline and focus on core strengths."

Have faith in us...by the way, you're fired.

I realize payroll is typically the largest item on any company's accounting sheet, but I hate, hate, hate executives who try to rally the troops with one hand while axing employees with the other. You want to trim payroll? Instead of laying off people, cut executive salaries. Executives are always (tautologically so) overpaid.

[Dave]

Rumors of Microsoft attempting a hostile takeover of Yahoo on Monday. Good article on Fortune why Microsoft doesn't want to: "various entities of Capital Group own as much as 16% of Yahoo’s outstanding shares. Legg Mason (LM) owns another 6%. Founders Jerry Yang and David Filo together have kept a 10% stake all these years. Directors, top executives and various friends of Jerry and David’s own at least another 5%. That adds up to 37%...many of its shares are held by retail investors, perhaps as much as 25%. Retail investors almost never vote in proxy contests...remove that 25% from the vote count. Now that 37% of Yahoo stalwarts all of a sudden becomes 49% of the votes outstanding."

My solution: take that $45 or 50 billion. Spend $35 of it hiring a new development team to code new/better search, mail and advertising features. Send $1 billion to me for the idea. Save up to $15+ billion NOT buying Yahoo. Problem solved. Hell, I'll settle for $100 million. That's just the kind of great guy I am.

[Bacony Goodness]

We should have Yahoo and Google duke it out in a UFC fight. They choose representatives and then whoever wins gets the other ones company.

[Dave]

The Microsoft-Yahoo deal appears to be dead. Yahoo's stock is expected to plummet Monday. WSJ wrote a snarky commentary on Steve Ballmer's letters (his press release and one to Jerry Yang). Who knew WSJ had a sense of humor?

[Deb]

I cried in my beer when I found out that millions of dollars wouldn't be passed back and forth between to bigass corporations.

I felt genuine regret that you would not get your cut, Dave.

I was gonna hit you up for a loan

[Dave]

I felt genuine regret that you would not get your cut, Dave.

I know, right? It's like Steve Ballmer doesn't even visit this site anymore. Well, we'll keep his MSroxxorz member account warm just in case.