With all the talk of Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! leading nowhere, there's one important thing to keep in mind: Yahoo! never said it was looking for a buyer. Microsoft's takeover offer never quite got "hostile," but it was unsolicted nonetheless. So now that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has decided to take his ball and go home, we probably shouldn't be surprised that Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang released a statement saying "With the distraction of Microsoft's unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will be able to focus all of our energies" on other things, you know, like making the company as valuable as Yang and the shareholders told Microsoft it already is.
Kara Swisher at All Things Digital has written an interesting article choc full of information from those close to the negotiations. In a nutshell, she says that Yang was originally holding out for Microsoft to offer $40 a share, which was a good $10 or $11 higher than the value of the offer this week. Ballmer was reportedly willing to go as high as $33, while Yang was willing to come down to $37. But once Yang said that Yahoo! would respond to any proxy fight initiated by Microsoft by expanding its partnership with Google, things seemed to fall apart.
It's not clear whether Yahoo! will continue to seek more deals with companies like Google and AOL now that the Microsoft deal is no more. But this raises an interesting question: were Yang and company protecting their brand and their shareholders, or was this a dumb move from a company that's not as relevant as it once was?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-04-2008 @ 12:42PM
ronin6912yahoo.com said...
"...was this a dumb move?"
No, not at all. To hear short sighted ( read: greedy ) VCs, hedge fund managers and shrill stock holders tell it, all is lost, Yahoo will be two cents a share on Tuesday, "we're gonna sue the board into the stone age", etc.
But what's really the issue here is that Yahoo never asked for offers from any one. If the stock holders thought it was so such a great idea, why didn't they initiate the sale themselves before Ballmer's offer?
The fact that the offer was made in the first place shows how desperate Microsoft is to save itself from obsolescence. They just bought Danger, foolishly thinking they can build a ZunePhone and compete with the iPhone. That same thinking is what started "We'll buy Yahoo and beat Google".
Microsoft's "Just build it, who cares if it works, we'll just force it down everyone's throats via the desktop." philosophy is useless now, and it's coming back to haunt them.
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5-05-2008 @ 7:52AM
Quikboy said...
So tell me, what has Microsoft done with Danger so far? Where's this Zunephone you speak of?
""Just build it, who cares if it works, we'll just force it down everyone's throats via the desktop." philosophy is useless now" - You still think MS does this? I guess you haven't looked much at what web services/software they've been offering for quite a while now. Live Mail client and Live Photo Gallery are good examples where MS is trying to bring much better solutions to the boring old components that came with the Windows OS. MS has been putting considerable work on their online services. Live Mesh and Live Maps are a good examples of the great work so far.
MS doesn't need Y! for stuff like that. If MS is still making tons of profit, I wouldn't consider this move desperate.
5-04-2008 @ 12:44PM
RP said...
Merging 2 giant companies almost never works, so I see this as good for competition. A combined Microsoft/Yahoo would have moved even more slowly.
This bullet item from the press release was interesting:
"enhanced expense and resource management to support improved profitability."
Um, how exciting -- does that mean more layoffs?
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5-05-2008 @ 12:24AM
hazard said...
I'd say they've got a lot of hutzpah at Yahoo (good for them) .. it would be very difficult to face an MS raid and withstand assimilation.
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5-05-2008 @ 6:28AM
Sir Alien said...
I agree.
Yahoo! may have some problems raising capital in the short term to push the company forward with the present banking chaos in the US but I think it can do it.
Yang's strategy was good and he should be applauded for keeping Yahoo! independent of the immoral hostile talks from Microsoft. Their behaviour here reinforces peoples opinion of Microsoft as a bad company intent on forcing it's vision at the cost of competition and innovation from others.
I agree the shareholders will be crying but only those who bought Yahoo! shares to sell to Microsoft. Those who beleive in Yahoo! will stick with them.
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5-05-2008 @ 7:54AM
Great News said...
Whether this was a smart move on either parties part, time will tell. Personally, I can't stand Bill Gates or what he stands for. His "charity" funds his drive to screw employees in the US and abroad and illegally avoiding taxes and court orders whenever he feels like it. The guy is a crook and anywhere but this bizarro world we live in today he'd be in JAIL or worse.
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5-05-2008 @ 7:55AM
Marky said...
It's very good news for the users and for competition. Reducing the options to just two, Google and Microsoft-Yahoo! would not have been good for anyone other than the shareholders. The only people whining now are those who stood to take M$'s money and run. Reducing to two may have passed the American lapse competition comission but there isn't any certainty it would have passed the stricter European competition authorities on that basis and both companies are registered in the EU.
Yahoo! have a good brand, have developed it from nothing to it's present position. Google may have eclipised it but it's still strong.
M$ need to work on their own services rather than trying to buy out the competition who do not want to be bought.
A deal with AOL may yet be a good option on services promotion but Yahoo!'s long term future as as Yahoo!
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5-05-2008 @ 7:55AM
siralien said...
I agree.
Yahoo! may have some problems raising capital in the short term to push the company forward with the present banking chaos in the US but I think it can do it.
Yang's strategy was good and he should be applauded for keeping Yahoo! independent of the immoral hostile talks from Microsoft. I agree the shareholders will be crying but only those who bought Yahoo! shares to sell to Microsoft. Those who beleive in Yahoo! will stick with them.