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Microsoft and News Corp in Yahoo Bid Talks
KingAlanI writes "The New York Times website is reporting that Microsoft is trying another angle in its bid for Yahoo: joining up with another behemoth, Murdoch's News Corporation.
This is still very much in the preliminary stage, if anything, but an important development to consider. The idea of Yahoo working with fellow Web giant Google, in a plan to counteract Microsoft's takeover plan, is also discussed."
Why do I have a feeling MSFT is going to come out ahead with this deal
As for if this will stand in the EU... that is another question all-together.
-nick
Of course! We need more EVIL! Get Murdoch on board....
It's been a long time since I had a business class. Isn't this what is called the poison pill? Either buying up things that make the company a poor purchase decision, or entering into contracts that do the same thing etc?
For singlehandledly making AOL relevant again. I think my collection of AOL disks just increased in value.
This is a better link because it's reg-free.
The wrinkly photo of Murdoch (complete with disembodied hand) is just icing on the cake.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Don't count out another media player:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0929033920080410?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true
Hard to know whether this is going to turn into a bidding war, but no matter what happens, Yahoo's days as an independant 'net player on the big stage are numbered.
The problem with socialism is that they always run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher
IMHO, I don't think Microsoft is going to gain anything by taking over Apple, Yahoo OR Google. They have acquired Hotmail earlier, and I personally know many friends switching from Hotmail to something else for pathetic services. I do not have a single contact with Hotmail address today.
MSFT is not known for quality, and, yes, it is loss to the world to have lost a good company to MSFT. But MSFT is not going to gain anything
/troll
hilarious
If Microsoft is trying to convince anyone that its hostile takeover of Yahoo isn't evil, it's going in exactly the wrong direction.
--
make install -not war
From the article...
"Microsoft immediately blasted the idea of a search advertising partnership between Yahoo and Google, saying it would be anticompetitive. âoeAny definitive agreement between Yahoo and Google would consolidate over 90 percent of the search advertising market in Googleâ(TM)s hands,â Microsoft said in a statement."
For some reason, this cry for justice rings empty. Does Microsoft honestly think THEY can make such complaints given their own gregarious behavior?
Bearded Dragon
Will this actually lure people away from Google? Right now the mentality is quite simply "Google It".
I'm not sure we'll be hearing "Yahoo! It" or "MSN It" any time soon.
It probably doesn't help that Google is the default search in Firefox either.
THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
It could've said "Microsoft and Newscorp have banded together to make the proper sacrifices to Cthulhu to ensure their bid for Yahoo! is accepted." At least then the circle of evil would be complete.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
As previous posts said, you Google it, you don't Yahoo! it or whatever.
But the idea of Microsoft and News Corp joining together makes my blood run cold. Neither of them has a glowing reputation, do they?
I think we've just witnessed the first formings of the real world's Weyland-Yutani
Yahoo doesn't want to be under you, get the hint.
Ubuntu- Linux for human beings.
If Microsoft buys Yahoo, and the DOJ clears it, it will just further cement my belief that Microsoft is above the law in the USA and there's no stopping them. They still have a clear monopoly on the desktop and they have involvement now with Linspire, XandrOS, Novell, and others, either through patent agreements or deals, how much money are they making or set to make on Linux sales? It is sick and the Linux users sit idly by and make jokes or ignore it while they rub their penis and play Halo on their Xbox with their dual boot Microsoft Windows partition for DirectX (yet another monopoly) gaming.
What will Microsoft NOT buy tomorrow? Let the clown head Gates talk begin shortly after his MS departure, I'm betting as soon as he starts talking he won't shut up until he's President or deeply woven into the fabric of American politics. Silverlight slithers in the distance, first LOC, tomorrow the world, another soon to be victory as a monopoly, as we lay our roses on the tombstone of Netscape.
Be sure to install your nsakey.exe Genuine Advantage before you use any application!
smells of sweat and fear...
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Hey you've got right wing zealotry in my monopoly.
Hey you've got monopoly in my right right wing politics.
Ah two great evils that taste better together.
evil is as evil does
MicroFOX!
-516
Geez, that's like Dick Cheney talking to Osama Bin Laden.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
The recent announcement about Yahoo testing Adsense for search result advertising just proves that MS is right and that Yahoo is not a viable standalone entity. We need strong and serious competition for Google because the last thing the world needs is a monopoly on the source of revenue for ad properties. Yahoo has now admitted defeat and MS is willing to put up the challenge. Throw in Fox and we could have a real competitor for Google.
Of course, combining 3 "also rans"doesn't mean we get a winner, just that we'll at least likely have a fight!
True enough, but, y'know, why spend all this money on lawyers just to make this thing happen just to have a bit of a limp struggle against the google-constrictor. What's the point? The three of them are screwed as an entity. They could no more pull a decent web presence out of this than I could pull a flaming, banjo-playing clown out of my ass.
Anyway, google as a monopoly for a few years sounds quite nice. I like monopolies. Aren't monopolies what gave us all that stuff that isn't MS, that has allowed MS to degenerate quietly into the laughable junk it is, you know, things like Linux, and google?
You may not agree with what I say, but you should fight to the death to allow me to say it, by modding me up.
I am guessing that all of the countries will realize that MS is not trying to be a white knight.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
it is designed to kill Google, not compete. They are going to use their monopoly to control the web by forcing all MSIE users to become 'live'. Once done, their search engine will be integrated with their desktop. Of course, Google will sue in court later on, MS will be found guilty, and MS will simply pay. Not a bad deal for MS.
But I am guessing that W would allow it (MS paid a lot of money to his campaign), but EU, China, Russia, and japan will nix it. And yes, those countries do have a say. After all, they can simply shut down all Windows sales, which would push Linux to the forefront. And from their POV, that would mean new business opportunities.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
By bringing turkey into the equation, are you trying to say that MS has targeted them, or that Turks are not that bright?
If either Micro$oft or News Corpse buys Yahoo! I'm canceling the email I have with them.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
they're not quite anagrams yet.
Ha-li-bur-ton!
Ha-li-bur-ton!
Ha-li-bur-ton!
Ha-li-bur-ton!
Where the Hell is Haliburton? We have Microsoft and Fox News, but without Haliburton the triumvirate of evil is not complete!
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
In principal, I agree that viable competitors to Google is a common good. Looking at it from a business acquisition perspective, you would be wrong though.
-As a general rule, upwards of 80% of acquisitions fail to bring "synergies" that are referenced as justification for mergers public relations. Most of them are done to eliminate competition and grow a balance sheet to fund the next acquisition.
-The scale and managerial mediocrity of all companies in your post suggest that nothing viable would come out of a merger, regardless of the acquirer. (sp) Google has a goose that's laid maybe two golden eggs on which an empire has been built. (search and sensible adverts) Yahoo probably has a couple of golden eggs too. Like all of the companies mentioned, the managerial layer at Yahoo has more than likely declared the golden eggs non-viable products and stuck them on the shelf.
My own opinion is they should try to go private as employee financed/employee-owned. But that doesn't net the investment banks any service fees, so it will never see the light of day.
-
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
and your source for this stat is to found where, exactly?
Yep, Ballmer and co are a sociable lot who seek the company of other like-minded madmen. Gregarious, indeed.
I didn't know Microsoft was so outgoing...
I think you meant egregious...as in bad, reprehensible, etc.
"Know but never fear the consequences of your actions."
Two evil supervillains joining forces? Won't that pose a clash of egos? How are FOX and MSNBC going to feel about this?
"... if you take the history of all buy-outs, the Net benefit for the firm doing the buying is roughly 0%."
Source: Wikipedia article about Mergers and Acquisitions. Quote: "Historically, mergers have often failed (Straub, 2007) to add significantly to the value of the acquiring firm's shares (King, et al., 2004)."
That idea is well-known, but I was unable to find another link quickly. (It's only a Slashdot comment, not the result of a research project.) For example, the merger of Time-Warner and AOL is the worst business decision of human history, and lowered the value of Time-Warner so much that employees lost much of their invested savings.
The basic point seems valid in this case, also. Microsoft has proven, over many years, that it does not know how to run a search engine. Yahoo has proven, over many years, that...
I'm guessing that Steve Ballmer is doing this because he wants an outlet for his anger. It's difficult to see how owning Yahoo can benefit Microsoft. One possibility is that Microsoft can try to get a partial monopoly over some kinds of internet traffic. Many people with little technical knowledge use whatever Microsoft pushes them towards.
Microsoft is NOT a successful company, in my opinion. If Microsoft didn't have one-time monopolies created during a time when people were ignorant about computers, it would not make much profit.
Also, the failure of Vista may indicate that Microsoft can no longer hire people intelligent enough to write working software.
Here's more about the Time-Warner merger: AOL/Time Warner Merger. Quote: "AOL Time Warner announced Wednesday it was reporting a $45.5 billion quarterly loss to account for the declining value of its flagship America Online property -- bringing the company to post an annual loss of nearly $100 billion, the largest annual loss ever in corporate history. (1/30/03)"
that you open and even though there is nothing tangible in it, "EEEEEEEEE-Villllllll!" is somehow heard....
Probably not, but they might "'google it' on Yahoo!" much like people happily "hoover with a Dyson".
Python coder | PyQt Applications | Writer
Elliot Carver anyone ?
Microsoft is famous for its monopolies. If we allow them to buy Yahoo and take over the internet then there will be nothing stopping them. We seem to mistake Google for being the bad guy over Privacy concerns but what happens when Microsoft owns all of the market. MicroHoo (no matter how crappy it will be) may be too overwhelming to Google. There wont be much of a competition on this front unless Google somehow gains more of the Market.
I am a lowly high school student... please dont assume im an expert.
My first thought upon reading this is that it was an indication of how hellbent Microsoft seems on getting Yahoo. Second thought - that it would be a perfect type of story to post to /.
Yeah, I also screamed "irony" with the part with Microsoft complaining of Google's search-market dominance.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.