Microsoft to Buy Yahoo! WHA?!
I have to say rarely am I surprised when one company tries to buy another, but I must say that this announcement not only caught me by surprise it made me triple check its accuracy.
And yes, Microsoft made a HUGE bid for Yahoo.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced that it has made a proposal to the Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) Board of Directors to acquire all the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 representing a total equity value of approximately $44.6 billion. Microsoft’s proposal would allow the Yahoo! shareholders to elect to receive cash or a fixed number of shares of Microsoft common stock, with the total consideration payable to Yahoo! shareholders consisting of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock. The offer represents a 62 percent premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock on Jan. 31, 2008.
More as this develops. What to you think of the proposed merger?
12 Comments, Comment or Trackback
Stijn
Don’t touch Flickr!
Feb 1st, 2008
seth
Pretty insane, I was wondering when the big players in the industry were going to start trying to merge. I don’t know what this means for the web/os yet; possibly an attempt at a gOS rival?
I’m seeing this pop up all over the usual media outlets today. Definitely a big deal.
Look forward to hearing further news from the Uneasy crew, though.
Feb 1st, 2008
name
obviously, in my opinion: today, in terms of user experience, the Apple/.mac is way much better conceived then MS groups.
with this merger, Microsoft will definitely beat apple at online community.
Feb 1st, 2008
Paul
Well what can be said about this!! About time thats what!!
Microsoft really are going to move into a strong position with this purchase, Yahoo have some technologies and brands which could really benefit Microsoft e.g. Flickr. With Microsofts new OS apparently centered around Windows Live and other MS online services it could bring a excellent user experience for everybody.
Feb 1st, 2008
Ian
I can only see a lot of confusion coming out of this deal. I imagine that they’d keep both companies in name and not create some sort of Micyarosofhoot Frankenstein. But then it begs the questions, what would consumers go for: Hotmail or Yahoo Mail? Live Search or Yahoo Search? Microsoft product X or Yahoo product Y? Microsoft has always been a source of confusion for me, so this fits their MO perfectly.
Feb 1st, 2008
chad
@IAN
Micryrosofhoot LOL!
anyways…. this kinda scares me :(
I like Yahoo for exactly what it is…. and I dislike Microsoft for exactly what they are. Yahoo being one of the largest online companies (they have way more than you’re thinking about) I don’t want to lose them :(
I hope they pass on the deal and continue to do their own thing…. as for Microshaft, why don’t they go buy Booble or something?
Feb 1st, 2008
Mike
Don’t touch Flickr? THat’s the first thing they need to fix. It sucks. While everyone else is upgrading their sites, yahoo has been slacking.
You know that Microsoft tried buying Yahoo last year and was rebuffed right? Plus the rumors have been going on for a year that microsoft would buy yahoo. They just finally pulled the trigger again since Yahoo’s stock is in the toilet.
Feb 1st, 2008
Matt
These rumors have been going around for ever, but I must say that the fact is Yahoo’s stock is doing pretty shitty right now, so there’s always a chance.
Feb 1st, 2008
Don Wilson
Why does anyone still talk about “gOS”?
Feb 1st, 2008
Frank
Resistance is futile. Yahoo will be assimilated. No good can come of this.
Feb 2nd, 2008
Shai Mishali
NOO! this is chaos… i hope microsoft wont put their footstep in Yahoos products. (especially Flickr and yahoo mail)
Feb 2nd, 2008
Dan
Well, there goes my Yahoo email account… If Microsoft buys Yahoo, I wouldn’t keep that account for longer than it takes Microsoft’s ink to dry.
Feb 4th, 2008
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