MicroTechXP

Rumours from silicon valley this week point towards Microsoft purchasing Yahoo Search and then using $20 billion to get hold of Facebook.
Microsoft picking up the Yahoo search business. Word is that this deal will be done this week. While this is not surprising, it does bring to question the motives and plans of Microsoft.
Techmeme is buzzing about the latest Microsoft Yahoo talks that has Microsoft buying the Yahoo Search business only. Here is Microsoft’s and Yahoo official statements.
Why would such a complicated transaction (just Yahoo search with all the headaches and all) be in the cards for Microsoft? After the failed bid for $40 plus billion for all of Yahoo, Microsoft’s intentions are clear. Buy the search business from Yahoo and take that team and go spend at least 20 billion for Facebook. Integrating the search team at Yahoo with Facebook puts a formidable army to take on Google. [Furrier.org]

The bad news just doesn’t seem to end for Yahoo. As the Internet portal prepares to fend off a proxy fight by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, new research from comScore concludes that for the first time, Google has overtaken Yahoo as the most-visited Web site in the U.S. Google reached the pinnacle of the Top 50 U.S. Properties in April, with an audience of 141 million visitors, according to data from comScore’s monthly analysis. Yahoo and its affiliated sites ranked second, with 140.6 million visitors, followed by Microsoft sites with 121.2 million visitors.
View: Full Story at Infoworld

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc.
“We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.
“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal,” said Ballmer.
“We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals,” Ballmer said.
“We are investing heavily in new tools and Web experiences, we have dramatically improved our search performance and advertiser satisfaction, and we will continue to build our scale through organic growth and partnerships,” said Kevin Johnson, Microsoft president for platforms and services. [Microsoft]

Microsoft Corp. directors failed to decide on the next step in the pursuit of Yahoo! Inc. yesterday, leaving open the debate over whether to walk away from the $44.6 billion bid or fight to replace the Internet company’s board.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer is undecided on what to do, and his allies don’t know whether he will give up or mount a hostile takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported last night on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft examined a price of $32 to $33 a share in recent days, more than the initial $31 cash-and-stock bid, the newspaper said. Raising the offer would be one way for Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, to clinch a friendly deal with Yahoo or make it easier to win a proxy fight to oust the board.
View: Read More @ Bloomberg

Microsoft is considering launching a hostile bid for search provider Yahoo as early next week if Yahoo does not begin talks soon, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said today. Liddell repeated a threat by Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday to withdraw Microsoft’s $31 a share cash and stock offer if Yahoo does not start negotiating. According to the CFO, Yahoo management has “unrealistic expectations” of its value. “We have been clear that speed is of the essence to make sense,” he told investors on a conference call to discuss quarterly results.
View: Full Story at Reuters

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft’s MSN and News Corporation’s MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape.
The talks are a surprising twist in the two-month-long takeover story that began when Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo. Yahoo has resisted Microsoft’s overtures, contending that it will not negotiate unless Microsoft raises its offer. Yahoo, which wants to remain independent, has been in a desperate search for white knights, holding conversations with Time Warner’s AOL and News Corporation.
If News Corporation throws its weight behind Microsoft’s offer, that could allow Microsoft to raise its bid, putting even more pressure on Yahoo and its shareholders. At the same time, the alignment of Microsoft and News Corporation would remove a possible alternative for Yahoo, leaving it with fewer opportunities to escape Microsoft’s grasp.
View: Full Article @ The New York Times

Yahoo’s done its best to fend off Microsoft’s aggressive advances until now, but it suddenly looks like the struggling company might be getting some help — both the Wall Street Journal and Reuters are reporting that the Yahoo is “closing in” on a deal to merge with Time Warner’s AOL division and partner up with Google on search advertising. Yeah, that’s pretty major, and it would probably do something about those declining shares Microsoft’s been making noise about. The idea is for Time Warner to sell AOL to Yahoo and make a large investment in the new company, which would probably be valued at around $10B. There’s apparently a lot of work left to do on the deal, and it would still have to be approved by Yahoo and Time Warner shareholders, but it looks like Yahoo is no longer stuck taking Ballmer and Co. to the dance. [Engadget]

Read - WSJ article
Read - Reuters article

The Board of Directors of Yahoo! Inc., today sent a reply to Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation.
The response letter states “At the same time, we have continued to make clear that we are not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders. Our position is simply that any transaction must be at a value that fully reflects the value of Yahoo!, including any strategic benefits to Microsoft, and on terms that provide certainty to our stockholders.”
The letter also states : “We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction.”
In short, either Microsoft pays more for a peaceful takeover, or prepares itself for a Corporate War !
View: Yahoo!

In a letter addressed to Yahoo’s board of directors, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has given Yahoo has three weeks to accept Microsoft Corp’s $31-a-share cash-and-stock offer. “If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors,” Ballmer wrote.
Then he threatened to reduce Microsoft’s offer if Yahoo failed to meet the deadline: “That action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.” According to a person close to the search engine, Yahoo’s board is currently reviewing the letter.

View: Full Story on Reuters

Microsoft Corp is evaluating its bid for Yahoo Inc because the Internet company may have lost value since Microsoft made its offer, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The news, sent Yahoo shares down more than 5 percent in extended trade.
After weeks of silence, recent comments from various sources to journalists suggest the software maker is hardening its stance and pushing Yahoo for action. The sources told Reuters that Yahoo has lost key personnel, making the company less valuable, while generous severance packages it handed out to executives and full-time employees in the case of a takeover have made it more expensive. [Reuters]