Microsoft offers to acquire Yahoo

[Diddlez]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22947626?gt1=10856

"In conference call Friday morning, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer indicated he won’t take no for an answer after Yahoo rebuffed takeover overtures a year ago.

“This is a decision we have — and I have — thought long and hard about,” Ballmer said. “We are confident it’s the right path for Microsoft and Yahoo.”"

IMO its time to buy some stock in Yahoo, as they are more than likely going to finally be acquired by Microsoft, and at a pretty high premium over the stocks value.

[Spyder]

No, you can't have my money.

Steve Ballmer is a dick. Figures he'd say he won't take no for an answer - I'm sure that makes Yahoo's board of directors all warm and fuzzy with positive feedback for this acquisition. What an arrogant cocksucker.

We talked this over in my morning meeting and figure that they are really after the talent that Yahoo has. Sure, many of Yahoo's engineers may quit after faced with the inevitability that they are going to become a Microsoft employee...but most won't (quite a few of those that do will probably look into working for Google - so ironically Google may benefit a bit from this based largely on the contrast of their reputation vs MS). They may get a few things code-wise that they can find a use for, but I don't think that's the motivation here. Sure, they'll move up the chain in the search world (the current standing is Google, Yahoo, and then Microsoft) and gain Yahoo customers (DSL, dialup, software contracts, etc) but I don't think that is worth 44 billion dollars to them - it's the talent behind the scenes they want that will help them dominate Google and other large software companies.


Personally, I don't give a shit because I already can't stand Yahoo.

[KMS]

I would be dissapointed (more like depressed) regarding this acquisition if I was an employee of Yahoo or MS.

Both companies are in search of a strategy TBH. This should go down like an AOL/Time Warner marriage.

I'm thinking MS has tried to calculate how many customers/eyeballs they need to buy, before they can try to force ppl into lock-in of a MS-spoonfed internet.

[m@nc0w]

I would be dissapointed (more like depressed) regarding this acquisition if I was an employee of Yahoo or MS.

You may feel even more depressed if you happen to be one of the 1,000 Yahoo employee's about to lose their job. I read the same story as Deadlys but from another source (CNN) and it had a link to another story about Yahoo laying off 1,000 employees very soon (mid feb). You can read that story here: Yahoo disappoints, to cut jobs

[Spyder]

Kind of ironic how much Google is benefiting from all of this and they haven't even done anything...

[m@nc0w]

Incase anyone missed it:

Yahoo officially rejected the Microsoft offer :

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/11/tech...ney_topstories

[Spyder]

What, do they think they're worth as much as google or something? I think it had more to do with not wanting to be sold to MS of all people...

[m@nc0w]

What, do they think they're worth as much as google or something? I think it had more to do with not wanting to be sold to MS of all people...

lol I think they do.

"The board believes that Microsoft's proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo, including our global brand, large worldwide audience, significant recent investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential, as well as our substantial unconsolidated investments," - Yahoo

[Spyder]

LOL potential doesn't pay the bills...apparently Yahoo lives in the clouds and thinks they can be as good as Google. Unfortunately for them, most people (myself included) regard Yahoo as a clutter-brand...they pretty much stamped their name on so many things that made no sense, it's hard to regard their business model as cohesive. Google has their hands in lots of projects...but they do them well and they are more focused on making it a good product rather than making money off of it and stamping their name all over it to make sure you're completely fed up with reading it/hearing it/seeing it.

[Diddlez]

Microsoft will eventually aquire them. Yahoo is just trying to milk as much money from them as possible.