Microsoft-Yahoo merger talks underway?
updated 04:00 pm EDT, Fri May 2, 2008
MS Yahoo Merger Underway
Microsoft and Yahoo are in genuine talks to agree on a merger, the New York Times says. The report claims to know people involved in the negotiations who say that Microsoft has agreed to raise its $31 per share bid by "several" dollars, in effect overcoming resistance by Yahoo to a deal which the latter has previously said undervalues its business. The conditions for the deal are in flux and aren't currently available.
These same sources also caution that a merger isn't certain and that the talks could either be hindered by specific details or fail outright if certain terms aren't met. Major shareholders are also reportedly being polled as to what values they would accept for a per-share offer and, in some cases, have been holding out for $35 per share.
If accurate, the sit-down between the two companies will represent the end to a three-month-long deadlock that began when Microsoft first submitted its deal. Microsoft has so far insisted that its bid, initially worth $44 billion, was equal to or above Yahoo's actual value and has recently threatened both to circumvent Yahoo's board of directors by making an offer to shareholders as well as to back out of the deal if Yahoo refused the originally offered terms.
Neither company involved in the discussions has commented on the subject, though any such merger may complicate a similarly rumored Google AdSense deal that Yahoo has been considering to guard against a low Microsoft takeover bid.
say goodbye
05/02, 04:12pm reply
when we look back in 10-15 years this will be the event we all agree killed microsoft. not dead, but think chrysler style irrelevance.
i'm increasing my stakes in apple/google as much as possible.
dashiel
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
killed microsoft?
05/02, 04:15pm reply
gee I dunno about that. I think Visturd has done far more to kill/doom MS to irrelevance.
But yeah, I fail to see what MS brings to the table which will enable it to turn Yahoo into a Google-slayer. It sure isn't their vision or forward thinking or satisfying the needs of customers.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
Hmm
05/02, 05:02pm reply
After they buy Yahoo they will try to convert everything over to Windows Server from Linux/MySQL. This of course, will fail miserably like it did when they tried to convert Hotmail.
afaby
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Joined: Jul 2005
Ok...
05/02, 05:03pm reply
ive got my list of new accounts to create. I'm finding the spammers to subscribe to.
Haroscarfel
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2007
at&t/Yahoo
05/02, 06:24pm reply
If you're an at&t/Yahoo DSL customer you can probably kiss Mac compatibility goodbye too. The current at&t/Yahoo main page barely works with Safari now. Imagine what it'll be like when everything is built around IE and Active X!
lkrupp
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2001
Microcrap
05/02, 06:51pm reply
"I fail to see what MS brings to the table"
Don't you know ?
They bring NOTHING to the table except $$$$$$ no ideas, no vision, no breath of fresh air.
Just a desperate bid to BUY their way into relevance rather than think and create. With all their money and all their manpower look at the best they could do with Vista after all those years ... it's a disgrace
russellb
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001