Microsoft makes offer to buy Yahoo

[PenforPrez]

Nobody saw this coming.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ajQT8oZ96Yas&refer=home

In an attempt to compete with Google, Microsoft today made an unsolicited $44 billion bid for Yahoo, totaling $31 a share, which is significantly higher than Yahoo has been trading.

This paragraph is very telling.

Microsoft is under massive pressure to expand its Internet business to fend off competition from rivals such as Google, and this deal shows how desperate they are,'' said Thomas Radinger, a fund manager at Pioneer Investments in Munich, which oversees about $95 billion, including Microsoft shares. ``It's a huge gamble as the price is very steep and it will take years to successfully integrate such a massive acquisition.''

I think it's like when K-Mart bought out Sears a few years ago -- two wrongs don't make a right.

Paul

[yankeeyosh]

This could give a good boost to the economy...

[meatwad]

I wonder if it has anything to do with how shitty MSN Search is?

[PenforPrez]

I wonder if it has anything to do with how shitty MSN Search is?

It sounds like it, pretty much. Yahoo is losing ad share and Microsoft is losing search engine traffic.

This could give a good boost to the economy...

Quite the opposite, I would expect. Microsoft expects to save money by eliminating "redundant cost." Read: layoffs. ;) Yahoo has already announced 1,000 layoffs, and Microsoft would have to cut more in a buyout.

Paul

[AsianGeek]

Mergers are usually bad for the economy.

[yankeeyosh]

Mergers are usually bad for the economy.

I actually read just the opposite the other day. It shows that American companies still have the confidence in the economy...especially with potential deals of this magnitude. And that can spill over to Wall Street, and eventually Main Street. I don't know if this will have much of an impact, but it certainly can't hurt.

[AsianGeek]

I actually read just the opposite the other day. It shows that American companies still have the confidence in the economy...especially with potential deals of this magnitude. And that can spill over to Wall Street, and eventually Main Street. I don't know if this will have much of an impact, but it certainly can't hurt.

Mergers are generally bad for the free economy. It means that staff will be cut and it also means less competition. I can't think of anything positive for the economy coming out of mergers unless both companies are at risk of going under without it.

[yankeeyosh]

Another thing is that it will provide some competition for Google, and possibly that could accelerate the advancement of Internet tools, which would be another long-term economic benefit.

[PenforPrez]

Another thing is that it will provide some competition for Google, and possibly that could accelerate the advancement of Internet tools, which would be another long-term economic benefit.

The problem is that it does not fix what is wrong with either company, especially Microsoft. It would be just one even bigger company with a broken business model, instead of two large companies with the same problem. Google would still have every advantage.

Paul

[AsianGeek]

Another thing is that it will provide some competition for Google, and possibly that could accelerate the advancement of Internet tools, which would be another long-term economic benefit.

Well even combined, they're still not much of a competition for google who not only owns the most popular search engine on the web but also owns myspace and youtube. For micro$oft to compete, they'd also need to acquire facebook and probably dailymotion if it ever gets popular.

I doubt it's going to advance internet tools any faster as R&D staff is probably going to be cut too. Well it's all speculation now. But I'm personally rooting for google. They're the least evil corporation at the moment and rated the best company to work for. I'd love to work for them one day.

[and1grad]

Quite the opposite, I would expect. Microsoft expects to save money by eliminating "redundant cost." Read: layoffs. ;) Yahoo has already announced 1,000 layoffs, and Microsoft would have to cut more in a buyout.
Thats what I'm thinking. Probably a massive layoff.

[PenforPrez]

Well even combined, they're still not much of a competition for google who not only owns the most popular search engine on the web but also owns myspace and youtube. For micro$oft to compete, they'd also need to acquire facebook and probably dailymotion if it ever gets popular.

MySpace is owned by the evil Rupert Murdoch. *shudder* YouTube is not Google, but I forget who does own it.

I doubt it's going to advance internet tools any faster as R&D staff is probably going to be cut too. Well it's all speculation now. But I'm personally rooting for google. They're the least evil corporation at the moment and rated the best company to work for. I'd love to work for them one day.

Me too. Google does things right. :)

Paul

[AsianGeek]

MySpace is owned by the evil Rupert Murdoch. *shudder* YouTube is not Google, but I forget who does own it.

Paul

Nope google purchased them a while ago. Go to the website, notice how you can login with your google account? Or try igoogle and notice how youtube vids are a part of the videos section?

[and1grad]

From an article I found:
Here are some stats to ponder while we wait for Yahoo's decision:

* Yahoo's stock price three months ago, versus its stock price today: $31/$28
* Microsoft's stock price three months ago, versus its stock price today: $37/$31
* Yahoo's current market capitalization: $37.10 billion
* Microsoft's current market capitalization: $283.96 billion
* Number of Yahoo full-time employees as of the fourth quarter earnings report (before the recently announced 1,000 layoffs): 14,300
* Number of Microsoft full-time employees as of the fourth quarter: 79,000
* Combined search market share of Yahoo and Microsoft (according to Nielsen): 31.5 percent
* Google's search market share as of Dec. 2007: 56.3 percent
* Number of unique visitors to Microsoft Domains in Dec. 2007 (according to Compete): 120,216,186
* Number of unique visitors to Yahoo.com in Dec. 2007 (according to Compete): 133,685,137
* The ranking of a combined Microsoft/Yahoo in terms of domain level traffic (as measured by page views to Yahoo.com and all of Microsoft's domains): No. 1 at 70 billion
* The number of page views a merged Microsoft/Yahoo would get over its closest competitor, MySpace: 35 billion
* Value of each Yahoo visitor based on Microsoft's $44.6B offer: $1,200/visitor
* Dollar amount of each Facebook user based on Microsoft's $240 million stake (and $15B valuation): $306/user