Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water (or at least use Flickr without fear that Microsoft would start requiring WGA validation), Microsoft released a statement saying it's not quite done with this whole Yahoo! thing yet. No, the company isn't putting another bid on the table for an outright acquisition of Yahoo!, but Microsoft isn't ruling that out either.
In a nutshell, Microsoft wants to make it clear that the company plans to expand its advertising and service businesses. And to that end, Microsoft has proposed some sort of an arrangement or partnership with Yahoo! Or maybe Microsoft wants to buy some, but not all of the search portal's properties. The statement doesn't really make it clear what Microsoft's after at this point.
A number of Yahoo! shareholders have expressed their disappointment with the way the Microsoft negotiations were handled (and the subsequent drop in stock price). So we could certainly see why Yahoo!'s leadership might be interested in some sort of a deal which could provide value for both companies, and more importantly keep shareholders from demanding Jerry Yang's head on a platter.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-18-2008 @ 11:06PM
a rackspace.com customer said...
ms is hedging, yahoo shareholders want this, just watch the show, enjoy
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5-19-2008 @ 8:40AM
campbellwaterman said...
What·s there to enjoy about Microsoft trying to strengthen their near monopoly?
Maybe good for Yahoo shareholders but not for users.
5-20-2008 @ 8:03AM
Quikboy said...
@campbellwaterman : You're saying Microsoft has more of a monopoly than Google on the web?
5-19-2008 @ 9:11AM
Todd said...
Yahoo volentarily split into three very focused companies ( to shut greedy, short sighted stock holders up ):
1. Search / Advertising ( 51% ownership by Microsoft, publicly traded )
2. IM, Mobile, Mail all rolled into one ( new independent company, IPO, publicly traded )
3. "The Good Stuff" ( Engineering, research, Y!Developer Network, Brickhouse, etc. ) all current Yahoo employees stay here ( privately owned and most lucrative of all ).
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