Eeesh. I don't know. I just always have a bad vibe from Microsoft. It's like I know they have good intentions, but they just always execute things horribly.
Sarah Cooper
· 2 years ago
Does MSFT have the cash?
Ali
· 2 years ago
It will probably be a stock and cash deal.
Macca
· 2 years ago
Wow. That's a lot of loose change. I'm not sure that such a deal is good for users and it certainly won't be good news for small independent web companies that work on the margins filling in gaps the big guys miss.
Advertiser will no doubt be asked to stump up more for the increased audience numbers and guess who will end up paying those increased costs?
Chris
· 2 years ago
Gates will become the first Trillionaire, will the price of Office and OS go lower, no chance. Microsoft will increase the prices to buy another big one.
Dan
· 2 years ago
A new spin on the old cliche.
If you can't compete with 'em (let alone "beat 'em"), buy 'em.
æ¨é£ž
· 2 years ago
This will never happen!Do not even underestimate Jerry Yang and David Filo's love to Yahoo! this brand!!!!(9%)*50B$ isn't quite different from (9%)*44B$,money is meaningless to both of them,they are rich enough to ignore any temptation.But Yahoo! this brand means a lot~~~!Unless they get enough esteem(for example,merge MSN brand to Yahoo!,just keep Windows live and Yahoo!)
Project
· 2 years ago
It makes sense in some respects, but would the shareholders of Microsoft want this? Microsoft has about $50bn in cash reserves, and presuming the acquisition was a cash+stocks deal, would wipe out an awful lot of that war chest for what is an ailing internet company. They will have massive clashes of IP (the portal business, search etc) - I just dont see the synergy here that justifies $50bn.
Andrew Mager
· 2 years ago
Microsoft could learn a lot from Yahoo... It would be pretty cool to see this develop.
csven
· 2 years ago
Something about this just doesn't make sense to me, and it's pretty simple: Google isn't just growing their services and applications... they're growing their *brand*. Meanwhile Microsoft's brand is still a double-edged sword; trusted by some, reviled by others. And Yahoo has a nice portfolio of services, but most users probably aren't even aware that Yahoo is the parent company of some popular ones (e.g. Flickr); thus the brand doesn't benefit to the degree it might.
Both of these companies seem to me to have brand issues more than anything else. They need to resolve those more than they need a merger, imho.
And search? That's now a branding issue more than a technological issue afaic. I doubt most people would understand the differences in the kinds of search that are available; the different algorithms/techniques. They just use what they believe works best... and Google has word-of-mouth on that front.
Right now, this is a marketing issue. And Google is kicking both of their asses. A merger isn't going to fix that afaic.
sean percival
· 2 years ago
:: que the jaws music ::
tommyp
· 2 years ago
as i slowly migrate from yahoo to google, this comes along to kick me in the pants. i thought my yahoo address was for life, but not if microblow owns them.
goodbye yahoo, hello gworld. somehow i feel better knowing fate has intervened to make this choice clear.
now i have to deal with my flickr obsession (not to mention upcoming.org...)
Ethan Bauley
· 2 years ago
Pete, this merger will only help Google.
Umair Haque at Bubblegeneration is the one who really hits on this.
Google has pioneered the real management innovations that work for a radically decentralized, quasi-anarchic landscape like the net.
Yahoo and Microsoft don't get it. They are too 21st century: giant firms built to organize scarce production resources.
You know the deal: Wikipedia v. Britannica Apache v. Microsoft SETI@home v. IBM
Yadda yadda. Google *as a firm* is built to leverage openness as much as possible.
Yahoo and MSFT can't win by becoming more bloated. They're both effed.
Umair Haque:
"Let me put that another way: Yahoo thinks the post-network economy demands a typical corporation, with nicer marketing. Google knows the post-network demands a new kind of firm - one which is different in it's very DNA.
I think some stock owners (read: yahoo execs) are going to make a killing off todays spike...I can see it now: "belated April Fools! hahahah!"
Phil Stolle
· 2 years ago
Not surprised, but with the viral nature of the web, there will always be the underdog start-ups to challenge the monoliths.
Chicago 2016
· 2 years ago
Who knows? Maybe Richard Branson will buy it...
R. Sosa
· 2 years ago
I am concerned about the compatibility of both companies. Certainly, Yahoo! has much more of a clue about the Internet, than what Microsoft has. MS has had a very tough time adapting and creating online products and services that attract the multitudes. If Microsoft tries to impose the culture on to Yahoo! employees, this can backfire. If MS uses Y! as a distribution channel for their own products, that could backfire as well.
If this were to work, I would acquire Yahoo! but just give them more funding for acquisition of startups in good places. An excellent acquisition by Yahoo! was Flickr. Now, Y! should step up to the plate and build onto Flickr a whole media solution, adding the all important video component. These developments should be supported by MS.
KindAndThoughtful
· 2 years ago
I am wondering what took them so long.
marc
· 2 years ago
Why did you change the header logo? The first one was funny, with microsoft written in Yahoo Font Type lol. aww:(
Pete Cashmore
· 2 years ago
We didn't change the logo.
Michael
· 2 years ago
Yeah, that logo was done by that "other" blog... starts with a "T" and ends with "Crunch"...
Pete Cashmore
· 2 years ago
Never heard of it.
Mauricio
· 2 years ago
I don't know why but I just remember when AOL merges with WB... Something doesn't sounds fine with this bubble...
Michael
· 2 years ago
This post pretty much demonstrates the journalistic skill of these tech blogs... reporting on a story from another source without ever verifying the facts themselves. Guess that's why it's blog...
Achint
· 2 years ago
I heard that eBay has also lined up in the queue for acquiring Yahoo!
Thunder_X
· 5 months ago
I can stomach neither Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail, and only use either to set up accounts at sites I'm not sure I want to maintain a relationship with. Horrible services both if you ask me. Far as the whole deal is concerned, I don't see how things cold get any worse for either side.
All Comments
Advertiser will no doubt be asked to stump up more for the increased audience numbers and guess who will end up paying those increased costs?
If you can't compete with 'em (let alone "beat 'em"), buy 'em.
Both of these companies seem to me to have brand issues more than anything else. They need to resolve those more than they need a merger, imho.
And search? That's now a branding issue more than a technological issue afaic. I doubt most people would understand the differences in the kinds of search that are available; the different algorithms/techniques. They just use what they believe works best... and Google has word-of-mouth on that front.
Right now, this is a marketing issue. And Google is kicking both of their asses. A merger isn't going to fix that afaic.
goodbye yahoo, hello gworld. somehow i feel better knowing fate has intervened to make this choice clear.
now i have to deal with my flickr obsession (not to mention upcoming.org...)
Umair Haque at Bubblegeneration is the one who really hits on this.
Google has pioneered the real management innovations that work for a radically decentralized, quasi-anarchic landscape like the net.
Yahoo and Microsoft don't get it. They are too 21st century: giant firms built to organize scarce production resources.
You know the deal:
Wikipedia v. Britannica
Apache v. Microsoft
SETI@home v. IBM
Yadda yadda. Google *as a firm* is built to leverage openness as much as possible.
Yahoo and MSFT can't win by becoming more bloated. They're both effed.
Umair Haque:
"Let me put that another way: Yahoo thinks the post-network economy demands a typical corporation, with nicer marketing. Google knows the post-network demands a new kind of firm - one which is different in it's very DNA.
"That's the real source of Google's advantage."
It's right on the front page of Bubblegeneration, on 3/15/07
If this were to work, I would acquire Yahoo! but just give them more funding for acquisition of startups in good places. An excellent acquisition by Yahoo! was Flickr. Now, Y! should step up to the plate and build onto Flickr a whole media solution, adding the all important video component. These developments should be supported by MS.