Font Size 
Yahoo says board to consider Microsoft offer
Published on Fri, Feb 01, 2008 at 22:45, Updated on Fri, Feb 01, 2008 at 23:58 in 
Tags: 
 |
Related Stories
HC bars police from leaving J-K town Shopian - Dehradun cops accused of killing man to win medals
- Second nursing student alleges Andhra MLA raped her
- CPI-M may decide feuding Kerala leaders' fate
- CM helpless, admits Maoists extort Rs 300 cr annually
- Bandh call by Hindu outfit gets mixed response in Mysore
- Time for Mamata to walk the Budget talk
- Mamata's Budget Express | Mamata Exclusive | Rail Budget
- Top bosses fly high as AI struggles to survive
- 10 years of Kargil, heroes recall the war | Pay Tribute
Photogallery
 |  |
San Francisco/ New York: Yahoo Inc confirmed on Friday that it had received an unsolicited bid from Microsoft Corp to acquire the company and that its board of directors would consider the $44.6 billion deal.
Yahoo said in a statement that its board would evaluate the proposal "carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo's strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders."
Microsoft Corp made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo Inc for $44.6 billion in cash and stock, seeking to join forces against Google Inc in what would be the biggest Internet deal since the Time Warner-AOL merger.
In its boldest-ever acquisition move, Microsoft said on Friday it offered $31 per share for Yahoo, or a 62 per cent premium over the Internet media company's closing stock price on Nasdaq on Thursday.
Yahoo, whose shares jumped to $30.75 in premarket trading, said it would evaluate the bid. Microsoft shares, which have a market capitalisation of about $300 billion, fell six per cent to $30.78.
Speculation over a Microsoft move on Yahoo has swirled for at least a year, as investors wondered whether the two would seek a joint stand against an ever more powerful Google.
Internet audience researcher comScore estimates Google's share of the worldwide Web search market has reached 77 per cent, while Yahoo is second with 16 per cent and Microsoft was a distant third with 3.7 per cent.
"Microsoft's wanted to do things that could build up its online business dramatically," said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.
"This is going to be a big bet for them. But I also think it's where they see the market going, so they really needed to get there. This is more than a shot across the bow at Google, because you put these two guys together who are basically two and three in search and makes them far more relevant," he added.
Critics of a tie-up, however, have pointed out that Microsoft and Yahoo have very different corporate cultures and many overlapping businesses, from instant messaging to email and advertising, as well as news, travel and finance sites.
"To me, the premium seems exorbitant, for what is a dwindling business. I personally don't see how the synergies of Microsoft-Yahoo is going to take on Google," said Tim Smalls, head of US stock trading at brokerage firm Execution LLC.
[ Single Page View ]
| Ads by Google |
| Related Ads: | |
URBANEYE
Read Comment | Post Comment
Read more comment »