Microsoft Bids on Yahoo

[shamaal]

They made an offer a year ago which was rebuffed. They are making another run at them.

Microsoft made an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock bid for Yahoo Friday, a deal that shakes up the competitive and lucrative market for Internet search

Microsoft makes unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo - Feb. 1, 2008

[Mountain Man]

That's the last thing we need

[BrooklynBay]

It's like playing Monopoly. Eventually Microsoft will buy everything related to computers, and the Internet.

[shamaal]

Yahoo Inc.'s board has concluded Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid undervalues the slumping Internet pioneer and plans to reject the unsolicited offer, a person familiar with the situation said Saturday.

Yahoo Board to Spurn $44B Microsoft Bid

[Cybergasm]

They could'nt get MSN to fly so they will buy Yahoo! and find everyway to screw it up too.

[Mad-Mike_J]

I'm hoping, and in some ways, truly belive, that Microsoft WILL screw up major someday, look at all the pots they have their hands in, and they keep addinng more pots every few years.

When Microsoft started, all they were was SOFTWARE. MS-DOS, that was all they had going for them, and they did not even create that, it was a guy named Tim Patterson at Seattle Computer Products who created DOS, all Bill Gates and co did was buy it off of Tim at SCP. To me, Tim Patterson is THE MAN and Microsoft is just a nameless face that has outgrown it's britches.

Since the 80's, Microsoft then expanded into hardware, Multimedia, games, on-line services, webhosting, E-mail, and all kinds of other stuff....and if you look at almost all of those endeavors, they were bought off of someone else and screwed up.

So there are 2 ways Microsoft is going to go....

1- They will fuck themselves over by releasing a very buggy operating system release that gets used on some major government or business, causing a huge problem that leads to their demise via reputation, sort of like the Yugo automobile, a legal battle could ensue because of this.

2- The US Government will open their eyes, and start going antitrust on these guys again, forcing them to split up, this is less likely, but it could happen if the right people get involved.

[kaboom10]

They will create Sky Net and the computers will take over. Terminator Four coming to Microsoft. Sorry for my sense of humor but remember the bigger they are the harder they fall. Enron toppled.

[shamaal]

Yahoo has until the 26th before Microsoft attempts a hostile takeover.

Microsoft set the clock ticking for Yahoo to accept its $41 billion buyout offer in a letter to the Internet pioneer's board Saturday, warning that if a deal wasn't reached by April 26 the software maker would launch a hostile takeover at a less attractive price.

"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 for the Yahoo board," wrote Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

"If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, 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," he wrote.

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment Saturday.

Microsoft Gives Yahoo Deadline on Offer -- Shareholders, Yahoo! Incorporated -- Newsday.com

[shamaal]

They are at it again this weekend.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. finally dangled a higher takeover bid in front of Yahoo Inc. Friday, hoping to reach a friendly deal after weeks of saber rattling.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker upped its offer beyond the original value of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, according to a person familiar with the matter. The specifics of the new offer weren't known by this person, who didn't want to be identified because the negotiations are still confidential.

The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported Microsoft boosted the offer by "by several dollars" per share, lending weight to the assertion by many market analysts that Microsoft can afford to pay up to $35 a share.

Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment on the negotiations. The talks were expected to continue into the weekend.

Microsoft ups Yahoo offer above $31 per share: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

[glfredrick]

Lot of Microsoft hating going on these days -- yet, I wonder why? Just because they are successful? That should be the American dream!

I'll wager that none of what we're doing right now would be possible if not for Microsoft. In fact, Apple and all other rival's success is dependent on Microsoft. They, in large part, have driven the market and made computing a household deal. Did they do it to get richer than anyone could imagine? Yup -- but so what.

Getting rich is actually the end solutuon for most of the world's problems... Just let someone make money at something and they will solve a whole lotta problems. If there is no money in it, .

[shamaal]

If Microsoft hadn't done it someonelse would have. I object to their stifling of competition and interference in commerce.

[glfredrick]

Its a dog eat dog world... Like you said, someone would have. Gates was just smart enough to, 1) see into the future and buy it right; and 2) snuff the competition.

Are you against capitalism? Just wondering. What other scenario would you propose?

[shamaal]

I am for competition, there are place and times for monopolies. Operating systems and internet browsers are not one of them.

[shamaal]

All over, Microsoft has given up for now.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Microsoft Corp. said late Saturday that it had withdrawn its bid to acquire Yahoo after the two companies couldn't come to an agreement over price.

"Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo has not moved toward accepting our offer," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement released Saturday night. "After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us."

The decision caps weeks of negotiations following Microsoft's initial offer Feb. 1. Yahoo had turned it down but talks intensified late in the week after Microsoft raised its bid from $29 per share to $33 a share. But Yahoo was apparently looking for the neighborhood of $35-$37 a share.

Microsoft abandons bid to buy Yahoo

[shamaal]

They are at it again

Microsoft Corp., positioning itself for a new run for Yahoo Inc.'s search business, has approached other media companies in recent days about joining it in a deal that would effectively lead to Yahoo's breakup, say people familiar with the discussions.

Microsoft has held discussions with Time Warner Inc. and News Corp., among others, say people involved in the talks. In the past, Microsoft has floated an arrangement under which it would acquire Yahoo's search business and another partner, such as News Corp.'s MySpace or Time Warner's AOL, would combine forces with what remained of Yahoo. News Corp. is the owner of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft Seeks Partners For a New Run at Yahoo - WSJ.com