Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo
updated 07:25 am EST, Fri February 1, 2008
Microsoft Offers Yahoo Buy
Microsoft on Friday startled the industry by offering to buy Yahoo, potentially creating a major shift in online business. The proposal would see Microsoft pay $31 per share in a deal worth a total of $44.6 billion. This is 62 percent higher than Yahoo's closing stock price on Thursday, Microsoft observes. The latter argues that an acquisition would help both companies compete in web services and that about $1 billion per year could be saved between the two by eliminating overhead.
"We have great respect for Yahoo," says Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer. "And together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market."
Yahoo has yet to comment on the offer, which had previously been rumored and is widely believed to have been made out of worries that Google will continue to control both web advertising as well as an increasing shift to web applications, such as Google's Docs and Spreadsheets tools. Microsoft reacted to Google's buyout of DoubleClick by purchasing lesser-known ad firm aQuantive and has otherwise shadowed Google moves in recent months.
A completed acquisition would create a potential upheaval for many of Yahoo's partners, some of which are frequently considered rivals to Microsoft. Apple uses Yahoo's search, stocks, and weather services for the iPhone and iPod touch, while Yahoo itself offers its online music services for SanDisk's Sansa Connect wireless music player, which competes directly with the Zune.
Yahoo, however, has been struggling to achieve profitability in recent months and in recent days just slashed 1,000 jobs in an attempt to reorganize around its core search business.
40+ billion
02/01, 07:55am reply
that^s more than most 3rd world countries make in a year..
ruperts
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2001
YahSoft
02/01, 08:37am reply
Its just money changing hands and air being moved to MS, yet another business they can s**** up. Yahoo would merge in MSN Live and die painfully slow.
Another big win for Goog in the long run.
Peter Bonte
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Flickr
02/01, 08:39am reply
My concern would be for the future of Flickr. Right now there is good support for it on OS X and Windows, and I'd hope it stays that way and that the service and price don't go the wrong way.
mr.mouse
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2008
Yahoo will die
02/01, 09:45am reply
Once Yahoo is bought by M$, we will see a steady decline in Yahoo service. There will be a lot of outages too. My advice to anyone who uses Yahoo for email or messaging is that you run away as fast as you can when M$ buys it. EVERY TIME M$ partners with anyone, they through that partner under the bus while they further their greed and desire to take over and pervert every bit of technology on the market.
howiethemacguy
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Joined: Sep 2007
count me out
02/01, 11:26am reply
I've used Yahoo Plus mail for many years but I'll stop the day this happens. I've already moved one of my two small business's to Runbox, the other will follow.
nat
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Into the crapper
02/01, 12:11pm reply
Monkey Boy and his minions will drive Yahoo right into the toilet as they've done with everything else they've touched.
The first change I'd look for is less compatibility with Macintosh.
Mr. Strat
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2002
MSFT + YHOO. lol.
02/01, 12:41pm reply
a dying beast throwing billions down a hole at google's b****.
quite a last gasp.
rtbarry
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Joined: Aug 2001
howiethemacguy: c'mon!
02/01, 12:55pm reply
Microsoft is a company, not the devil. And using "M$" screams "from the depths of my mom's basement, I stab at thee!"
They're a bunch of reasonable people. They don't always make smart decisions, but it's not as though Microsoft is a poison pill.
Commodus
Mac Elite
Joined: Feb 2002
poison pill
02/01, 01:43pm reply
really? so being a business means, by your definition, that they are incapable of doing bad things? during thomas jefferson's era is when the first corporations came about and he said that the government should watch them, they are not to be trusted. but i suppose you have more insight on this you'd like to share, no?
nat
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
May not be so slow
02/01, 02:04pm reply
I don't think it will be a slow death...
Look at all Microsoft's acquisitions, they were all pretty quick deaths.
Only one survivor, Bungie. If they can come through it alive, I'll be amazed. But I'll bet we'll see great products from Bungie once again if they do survive. Of course MS only wanted one thing from them, and after lying about how Halo would be cross platform and nothing would change, they took what they wanted and they didn't take the time to execute them.
My concern for Yahoo is the groups. I don't know what is going to happen there. If that gets changed to MSNgroups, I'll have to move all my groups to another forum host. What a drag.
I agree with the post above, this is a huge win for Google.
Deal
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2001