Comments on: Ballmer on Yahoo Deal: The Bankers “screwed everything up.”

By: Gifts

Gifts — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:26:02 +0000

What are the odds that a merger would effectively destroy yahoo and any of the popularity that it still holds. History is littered with stories of companies (MS) thinking they can buy another company (YHOO) to strip it of it’s value while what actually happens is the two companies start a downhill trajectory.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:07:08 +0000

There seems to be a great lack of logic in discussions about these deals. The benefit for MS is not nearly as simple and obvious as some make it out to be. For one MS can’t simply use the tools and properties they gain from Yahoo. They are built completely on competing technologies. They will have to move these things to their platform or risk hurting their own image. What I thought they were after was simply traffic and user base. But after thinking about it I don’t believe they could be that stupid. For whatever reason people prefer Yahoo services to MS services. People will simply move…probably to Google.

The only benefit I can see is buying their way into the #2 spot so that in a year or two they can blow smoke about actually being competitive on the web. If anything this has to be about perception. If they believe they are going to benefit in any other way I believe its going to backfire like some of their other big moves. I could easily think of a few ways to build up Google type status for MS on the web without Yahoo. They have the tools to do it but when it comes to creating a buzz with the average person they fail miserably at execution. They squandered their Xbox Live fame by sticking Live on everything else as if that was going to create buzz all by itself. MS simply doesn’t move in this arena until someone else does. They will always play catch up here.

By: Tech Wired Australia

Tech Wired Australia — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:26:52 +0000

[...] Ballmer on Yahoo Deal: The Bankers “screwed everything up.” [...]

By: Dave Litsky

Dave Litsky — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:50:13 +0000

I am curious if Federal regulators would allow Microsoft to acquire all of Yahoo! considering that Hotmail and Yahoo Mail would provide Microsoft with a substantial share of webmail users. This is evidenced by a February 2007 article by Michael Arrington stating Yahoo! had 250 million users, Hotmail had 228 million users, and G-Mail had 51 million users. Although, Arrington’s comparison left out AOL Mail which I am certain has a substantial user base as well.

That being said, if Microsoft cannot purchase the entire company, they would most likely prefer to see Yahoo! Mail go to a friendlier competitor.

By: EH

EH — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:04:08 +0000

dt: Yes, of course. “We didn’t really want to anyway.” Right.

It’s MS’s board who is calling for heads, not Yahoo’s. I wouldn’t necessarily say this means Yang is safe, but Ballmer has much more to answer for since his tenure so far has been much less “performant.” That’s why there’s so much more info in this story: Ballmer needs to save face.

Like Microsoft, people won’t pay as much attention to Arrington if he admits he was wrong on this whole deal. MBA + Econ degrees, wasn’t it?

By: dt

dt — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:33:14 +0000

I thought the real story in the WSJ article was how MSFT was a lot less serious about doing a deal than is usually made out. Before they ever pulled out, they were looking for reasons to do so, having rethought whether it was actually a good idea.

By: vacation

vacation — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:34:14 +0000

This is seriously the deal that never ends.

By: EH

EH — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:17:40 +0000

That’s right derk@18! None of this could possibly be construed as a face-saving move by Microsoft. Listen, the WSJ came to BALLMER for the real story, he’s just laying out the facts. If Microsoft had misjudged here they would be the first ones to admit it. It’s always been like that. Remember when BillG went on Nightline to apologize for Windows ME? Same thing.

Yahoo has a lot of services, which when given the resources Microsoft has could become really successes

Right. It will go just as well as the other Microsoft acquisitions: rape and ruin.

Look, the fact that Microsoft is jumping from this to discussions with other search providers is proof that Microsoft needed Yahoo more than Yahoo needed Microsoft.

Sorry to burst your bubbles fanbois, but Arrington was wrong all the way down the line on this one. Notice how he is no longer drawing conclusions based on stories such as these. How many words do you think he would have typed about this story two months ago? Now we get 20 sentences. Go suck your thumbs in the corner (but don’t forget to link to your blog/linkfarm).

By: jro

jro — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:11:30 +0000

Of course, Yahoo could make all this hubbub about acquisition and breakup go away if they *actually* delivered on any of the promises they’ve been making.

But that is asking way too much of Yahoo, apparently.

By: TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » Ballmer 、「Yahoo買収をぶちこわしたのは銀行屋どもだ」

TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » Ballmer 、「Yahoo買収をぶちこわしたのは銀行屋どもだ」 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:48:03 +0000

[...] 今夜、Wall Street Journalに、いまだ継続中の（いつ果てるともない）Microsoft/Yahoo交渉の内幕についての驚くほど詳しい、面白い記事が掲載された。要旨はというと、これまで単にYahooの信用を壊滅させただけで何の実益も上げられなかったことにMicrosoftは大いに不満で、現在はYahooをバラバラに分割していくつかの部分を拾い上げようとしている、というもの。Microsoftは、事情に詳しい筋によると、Yahooの検索ビジネスに関して新たなアプローチを試みている。Microsoftは最近、他のメディア企業に事実上Yahooを分割買収するする試みに参加するよう提案しているという。この件に関してMicrosoftはTimeWarner Inc. 、News Corp.を始めとするメディア企業と会談を持ったと、同筋は述べた。今までにもMicrosoftはYahooの検索事業を買収すると同時にNewsCorp.のMySpaceあるいはTime WarnerのAOLとYahooの残余事業を合併させる案を考慮していたとされる。しかしこの記事で興味ある部分は、今までに明かされていない交渉の詳しい経過が年表形式で紹介されている点だ。もっとも大部分はすでに報道された内容だが、最新の状況、ことに6月後半に続けられた交渉の経過についての新しい情報が明かされている。（右のスクリーンショット参照）。5月に行われた会談の一つで、たまたま銀行の代表が参加していなかったところ、双方とも意志の疎通を銀行が妨害していると非難したという。（MicrosoftはMorganStanley、YahooはGolman Sachsを使った）。初期の交渉で、Bostock氏とBallmer氏は銀行のネガティブな影響を嘆いた。Ballmer氏は「銀行屋がなにもかもダメにした」と結論づけたという。面白いのはBallmerがそういうことを言ったということではなく（こういったどうでもいいコメントは長い交渉中にいくらでも出てくる）、それがWallStreet Journalにリークされたという点だ。たぶん、誰か（Yahooの取締役）が自分たち以外に責任を被せる悪役を捜しているのだろう。もっとも、Yahooは交渉をぶちこわすためにGoldmanSachsに報酬を出す約束したという説が強いのだから、こんな話はバカげている。[原文へ]（翻訳：Namekawa, U）タグ: Microsoft, Yahoo, Yahoo買収関連 [...]

By: Bancherii sunt de vina

Bancherii sunt de vina — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:15:03 +0000

[...] pentru esecul fuziunii dintre microsoft si yahoo … cel putin asa zice Ballmer … Etichete : esec Microsoft yahoo [...]

By: akahn

akahn — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:34:41 +0000

Breaking up Yahoo! is a great idea. Yahoo! has some excellent properties in numerous verticals, and internationally, their growth is excellent. A vertical break-up makes sense, IMO, and would unlock value which is trading at $21.67 as of right now.

By: finance wizard

finance wizard — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:13:17 +0000

microsoft is finally doing the right thing, it should look at acquisitions and stay in touch with the real consumers who flock to yahoo (not so recently now). but yahoo is a good bet for future. they can replicate their ‘96 magic

By: The dirt on Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo! « IT Spot

The dirt on Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo! « IT Spot — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:57:24 +0000

[...] talks with Yahoo!, and the reasons for the fall-out. One of the juicier bits is that Ballmer blamed the bankers involved for “screw[ing] everything [...]

By: derk

derk — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:41:21 +0000

sure, can’t blame MS…

By: Wolke Snow

Wolke Snow — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:32:48 +0000

Isn’t this all just a play by interested parties to keep Yahoo’s stock above $20?

Either to lighten up the mood at the August shareholder meeting
or to help some large investors sell off at least parts of their shares.

By: ej

ej — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:29:38 +0000

I’m just glad you were right about ongoing discussions, Michael.
What an article this morning. Yahoo was excited because Ballmer wore a purple polo?
Ballmer was doubtful about the acquisition because of integration issues?
What a joke.
Just make a good OS, Mr. Ballmer. You don’t need a broken Yahoo.
Congrats, Michael.

By: Brig

Brig — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:27:33 +0000

so interesting — I really would like to see Yahoo Search go to Microsoft, I just think they’ll be able to step up & be a real competitor to Google which is what we need.

BTW, spelling error:
…Yahoo used Golman Sachs… should be …Yahoo used Goldman Sachs…

By: Ruben Zevallos Jr.

Ruben Zevallos Jr. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:52:40 +0000

I think Yahoo now will take the MS offer… if not, their shares will drop more than last time… and the shareholders will scream more then never.

By: northerngeek

northerngeek — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:22:41 +0000

I never understood this idea of just buying up the search business- I agree with Microsoft 90% of the time, I share a similar vision with them about where and how computing is evolving- but for me the great value of Yahoo is in the whole package, not merely search.

Yahoo has a lot of services, which when given the resources Microsoft has could become really successes- and if not then at the very least it would be a good spring board for getting Silverlight out to more desktops.

Search is valuable, don’t get me wrong (well really it’s advertising that’s profitable I guess) but I think features that are (very nearly) unique to Yahoo are what gives it value:

1. Still the most visited domain IIRC
2. Great Mail client
3. Yahoo Lyrics search (Part of music, rather than search I assume)
a) Could be used in the Zune software- people find more songs, people buy more
b) Could be used on the live.com homepage “Images, Video… Music” - it’s the logical progression and could provide links to the Zune marketplace

etc.

Originally I thought the offer they gave was high but ultimately worth the squeeze- as it would give them access to tools that had taken hundreds of man-hours to produce, however now I see them as scrapping for pride or something- at this point I would rather see them keep Powerset as a separate group focusing only on refining semantic search (which sadly is still way off being usable) and giving them heaps of resources for new staff.

Example of Powerset searches:
What is microsoft’s market cap? - gives me the answer- great but not what I first typed…
What is microsoft’s value? - this is what I wrote originally and received garbage results for.

These guys need a lot more resources but could eventually make something brilliant. MS should either take all of Yahoo or walk away and invest in themselves- even if the mind share problem is hard to overcome it does happen in time, I have numerous people who have switched to Live search Images and Video for it’s superior results… get regular search done in house for cheap and they can still come out on top.

By: Balend N

Balend N — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:30:24 +0000

I wonder how much Yahoo regrets not taking the first offer, now that their shares are almost below $20.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:56:53 +0000

The timeline doesn’t give the full picture of YHOO’s arrogance and mismanagement, omitting MSFT’s January 2007 bid of $40 per share - a gift to shareholders. What a cluster.

By: Dirk

Dirk — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:01:14 +0000

I’m actually still surprised the Yahoo stock hasn’t surged past $26 on the news that MSFT is back at the table.

By: gregory

gregory — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:01:03 +0000

@ 3 .. lol

i will buy you dinner at whole foods ayear from now if yahoo isn’t one of the sharper, leaner, more focused companies around (imprecise, i know)

i think the last few months are the best thing that could have happened to them, is what i am trying to say, and they will be fine

By: Vincent Chan

Vincent Chan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:00:34 +0000

After all those top execs leaving the company, Yahoo is not as valuable as before… Microsoft probably can ask for a price cut. I wonder how much money Icahn will lose if the deal doesn’t go through eventually.