Yahoo flails about with AOL talks 10 Apr 2008 Yahoo is desperate to avoid Microsoft s clutches or at least get a sweeter bid. Tying up with fellow faded internet icon AOL may make some strategic sense, but the Microsoft deal looks much more valuable to Yahoo's shareholders. The AOL idea looks like another spoiling tactic.
Steve, just throw Yahoo some change 9 Apr 2008 Yahoo s running a test with Google that will see it outsource up to 3% of its search. Too bad it s only for two weeks. This is a transparent negotiating tactic that smells of desperation. Steve Ballmer should end this sloppy tango by sweetening the bid or making it allcash now.
Microsoft calls time on Yahoo dithering 7 Apr 2008 Yahoo s board has yet to make a persuasive case for rejecting Microsoft s $44.6bn bid. Now, Microsoft threatens to lower its bid if it isn t accepted in three weeks. Both sides may be engaging in a bit of histrionics, but this ups the pressure on Yahoo.
Yahoo’s board missed opportunity 1 Apr 2008 Microsoft has made plain it intends to stand firm on its $31 a share cash and stock bid. No wonder if Google is any proxy it shouldn t pay more than $24. The flailing internet group s board should have locked in a stronger bid from Microsoft when it had the chance.
Bebo valuation pokes a hole in social networking’s bubble 13 Mar 2008 Facebook s skyhigh theoretical value makes AOL s $850m offer for rival Bebo look paltry. It s more like News Corp s purchase of MySpace in 2005. But social network growth has rocketed since then. Why not their values? Maybe buyers have learned how hard it is to make money.
Is Washington State the next Napa Valley? 10 Mar 2008 Amazon.com shareholders should hope so. The Seattlebased internet giant is set to enter the online wine business. A number of websites, including one backed by Amazon, have struggled in the US before. But the company is wellplaced to capture the industry s grand cru riches.
Yahoo’s play for time shows weakness of its hand 5 Mar 2008 The internet company has extended the deadline for nominating directors. It can now delay its annual meeting, giving it time to fight Microsoft s unsolicited bid. If Yahoo could win a proxy fight or had a credible alternative plan it wouldn t need to do this.
Backdating casualty offers big upside 5 Mar 2008 Comverse Technology trades on the US pink sheets. Its founder absconded to Namibia. It hasn t released financial statements in two years. Lawsuits are flying. And the stock may be a great investment.
Microsoft takes Google battle to the clouds 3 Mar 2008 The software giant has unveiled new online subscription services cloud computing for businesses. Google s cheaper version of similar services has proved underwhelming so far. But Microsoft s new efforts and its bid for Yahoo shows just how worried it is by the trend.
Will Steve Ballmer throw a chair at Yahoo? 28 Feb 2008 The tempertantruming Microsoft boss has been uncharacteristically temperate while Yahoo dithers about its future. Yahoo s negotiating window may slam shut sooner than expected. Already its closest proxy, Google, has seen its shares slide by 15%. Time s a wasting.
Microsoft should pay cash for Yahoo 20 Feb 2008 The software giant s market capitalisation has fallen by $43bn since it offered to buy the internet company. One way to claw back some of this is to offer cash rather than equity financing half the deal with debt would generate tax savings worth around $3bn.
Yahoo-MySpace deal nothing but a spoiler 13 Feb 2008 It s hard to see how Yahoo s discredited management could convince shareholders it will create more value than Microsoft s offer by overpaying for a social networking site already in bed with Google. Hats off to Murdoch for his opportunism, though.
Online gambling plays on 13 Feb 2008 Sure, the stocks are far from their glory days before the US effectively banned the practice. But the profitable European companies are now expanding and there s not much chance of competition from US operators. The shares might just be worth a flutter.
Microsoft may need Yahoo more than it admits 11 Feb 2008 The software giant has justified its bid on the basis of beefing up online search and advertising. Now that it faces the likelihood of paying more for its quarry, it might be worth admitting that it s worried about the web s longterm threat to its dominant software businesses.
Microsoft’s shareholders have overreacted 8 Feb 2008 Its market cap has plunged by $41bn roughly the value of its offer for internet rival Yahoo. Adjusted for synergies and the likelihood Microsoft will sweeten its bid, this implies cataclysmic value destruction of an unlikely dimension.
Spam tells sad economic story 6 Feb 2008 Looking for insight into the zeitgeist? The mix of spam email provides a clue. Cheap mortgage offers jumped when the Fed cut rates, but hot stock tips have all but disappeared. And to judge from the increased share for enhancements , people are feeling mighty insecure.
Microsoft-Yahoo should get antitrust green light 4 Feb 2008 Expect US and EU regulators to take a tough look but clear the $45bn proposed acquisition. Regulators have long portrayed Microsoft as a bully. But now it looks more like a saviour, trying to preserve competition and keep Google from becoming the new Microsoft.
Microsoft makes Google look smart over AOL 4 Feb 2008 It sure didn t mean to. But the price tag Microsoft has put on Yahoo vindicates its archenemy s decision to value the Time Warner internet portal at a chunky $20bn a couple years ago. Take a look at the arithmetic.
What’s the best outcome for Google? 4 Feb 2008 The search giant is trying to frustrate Microsoft's $45bn Yahoo bid in an effort to preserve the status quo: two wimpy rivals. But forcing Microsoft to pay more and choke on integrating Yahoo wouldn t be a bad outcome either.
Jerry Yang replies to Steve Ballmer 4 Feb 2008 Ok, not really. But if the Yahoo founder and chief executive were to respond to Microsoft s $45bn hostile bid, this is what he might say.