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Microsoft to Buy Yahoo. Google to Scratch Chin.

Microhoo!
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According to Market Watch, Microsoft Corp. offered to buy search-engine operator Yahoo Inc. for $31 a share, or $44.6 billion, in an effort to better compete with online-advertising juggernaut Google Inc.
Microsoft executives acknowledged that Google is the 800-pound gorilla of the search market and said a partnership with Yahoo would create a stronger rival.
“We’re very, very confident that this is the right path for Microsoft and Yahoo,” Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said in a conference call Friday morning.
In an appeal to Yahoo employees, who are nervous about pending layoffs, Microsoft said it would offer significant retention packages to Yahoo engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.
[UPDATE] This story is dominating the news today. I could point to a million opinions, but I’ll narrow it down for the info snackers.
Silicon Alley Insider believes a counter offer from a major private-equity firm may be in the works.
Kara Swisher says Yahoo! insiders were stunned by the public announcement this morning and consider it a hostile bid.

About David Burn

David Burn is the co-founder, editor, and publisher of Adpulp.com. David joined the ad agency business in 1997 as a copywriter and then worked for seven agencies in five states prior to launching Bonehook in 2010. Today, David is a writer, brand strategist, and leader of creative teams in Austin, TX.

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  2. David Burn says

    Hey Todd,
    Thanks for dropping by. I like your post on the state of Yahoo! and what led to today’s news. Especially, this passage:

    The passion went out of the place like a sigh. We were getting new managers every six months. In my one meeting with Terry Semel he looked straight at me and said, “We don’t actually know what we’re doing. Nobody in the Internet business truly does,” as Jerry Yang slept in a chair holding his putter and Dan Dan Rosensweig twitched in a corner. I’m not making this up.