dslreports logo
 story category
Microsoft Rescinds Yahoo Offer
No agreement could be reached in talks yesterday
There was a flurry of excitement this weekend when Microsoft and Yahoo resumed talk about a merger but it turns out the excitement was all for nothing. After a face-to-face meeting about the issue took place yesterday, Microsoft has rescinded its offer.
quote:
"The move leaves both companies in a tenuous spot. Although Microsoft has said it has a strategy to take on Google without Yahoo, Yahoo represented the biggest opportunity for Microsoft to gain scale against its rival, which has a much larger Internet advertising business.Yahoo, meanwhile, has had talks with AOL and Google, but it is unclear whether deals with either would produce the kind of immediate return for shareholders that a Microsoft deal would offer."
The main sticking point was money; Yahoo wanted more per share than Microsoft was willing to give up. However, there were also concerns on the part of Microsoft that Yahoo was making moves (such as planning to outsource its paid search to Google) that would make the company “undesirable” to Microsoft.
view:
topics flat nest 

a333
A hot cup of integrals please
join:2007-06-12
Rego Park, NY

a333

Member

Thank God......

One more M$ internet disaster prevented.
pilot_in_fla
join:2008-04-29

1 recommendation

pilot_in_fla

Member

Re: Thank God......

You might not be so happy if you own Yahoo stock -- watch and see what happens to the price on Monday.

hpguru
Curb Your Dogma
Premium Member
join:2002-04-12

hpguru to a333

Premium Member

to a333
With gods like that, who needs devils? I was hoping MS would clean up Yahoo's sleezy spammy ads which is one reason I hate using YH.

CosmicDebri
Still looking for intelligent life
join:2001-09-01
Lake City, FL

CosmicDebri

Member

Whom is undesirable to whom?

Gee.... poor Yahoo...... what are they gonna do now that Microsoft tells them they are no longer wanted...... think they'll run to Microsoft begging for forgiveness and to be bought after all??

Hardly... it's more a case of them making moves purposefully towards making themselves unpalatable to being gobbled up by a more voracious predator.....

Seems to be working out well for Yahoo so far..... lessee what the lumbering behemoth can come up for a plan B......

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Whom is undesirable to whom?

said by CosmicDebri:

Gee.... poor Yahoo...... what are they gonna do now that Microsoft tells them they are no longer wanted...... think they'll run to Microsoft begging for forgiveness and to be bought after all??

Hardly... it's more a case of them making moves purposefully towards making themselves unpalatable to being gobbled up by a more voracious predator.....

Seems to be working out well for Yahoo so far..... lessee what the lumbering behemoth can come up for a plan B......
The Wall St Journal has some ideas on what might happen:
»news.google.com/news?as_ ··· oq=wall+
Even after backing away Saturday, Microsoft could still eventually end up buying Yahoo. If Yahoo's share price plummets, shareholders could direct their anger at Yahoo's board. Already several shareholders have sued the company over its rejection of the Microsoft bid.

Mr. Ballmer's letter appeared intentionally crafted to spell out to shareholders how hard Microsoft worked -- and the amount it boosted its bid -- to entice Yahoo's board to enter a deal. That is a typical tactic for a would-be acquirer hoping to spur shareholder activism and one followed by Oracle Corp. last year in its bid for BEA Systems Inc. After BEA rejected Oracle's offer, Oracle withdrew its bit and its executives took great pains to spell out the effort they made to convince BEA to enter a deal. Shareholder pressure early this year forced BEA into Oracle's arms.
FFH5

2 edits

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Whom is undesirable to whom?

And here is a discussion(68 minutes) by tech bloggers on the busted deal:

»gillmorgang.techcrunch.c ··· 5.03.mp3
the above MP3 and comments made about the discussion can be seen here:
»gillmorgang.techcrunch.c ··· -050308/

mig
MVM
join:2000-10-26
Anytown, USA

2 recommendations

mig to CosmicDebri

MVM

to CosmicDebri
Actually, it won't be working out so well for Yahoo. Their share price was $19.18 on Jan 31. The following day they closed at $28.38 after the MS offer (a 48% increase).

In the 3 months since, Yahoo's board has tried everything to get that share price to $41.00. It won't work. They couldn't get AT&T, News Corp, Time Warner, or any others to get involved to boost MS offer.

No need for MS to get into a proxy fight now. Wait until the opening bell tomorrow. Their price should drop back to about $15-20 a share in the next month. Don't be surprised to see it close around $23 on Monday. And guess who'll be right there to be buying those shares up? It won't be Yahoo.

I'm not a huge MS fan, but my goodness, what in the world is Jerry Yang and Yahoo's board thinking? Zero growth, a P/E in the upper 30's. A huge miscalculation, especially for Yahoo shareholders.

Still think MS gets them eventually - and maybe less than $31 a share too.

Jim Gurd
Premium Member
join:2000-07-08
Livonia, MI

Jim Gurd

Premium Member

Re: Whom is undesirable to whom?

said by mig:

No need for MS to get into a proxy fight now. Wait until the opening bell tomorrow. Their price should drop back to about $15-20 a share in the next month. Don't be surprised to see it close around $23 on Monday. And guess who'll be right there to be buying those shares up? It won't be Yahoo.

Still think MS gets them eventually - and maybe less than $31 a share too.
I think that's exactly what's going to happen. Microsoft will wait for Yahoo stock to plunge and then start accumulating it at a bargain price. Eventually they will have a controlling interest and be able to do whatever they want.

Personally I think Microsoft is foolish for even looking at Yahoo. It really offers them nothing that they can't do on their own. Yahoo is an also ran in the search engine category just like MSN Live is. Google is King and Microsoft buying Yahoo will do nothing to change that.

C_9084
Kill The Socialists
Premium Member
join:2001-03-19

C_9084 to CosmicDebri

Premium Member

to CosmicDebri
ballmer needs to go all larry ellison on yahoo's ass
George Kidd
join:2001-08-09
Vancouver, BC

George Kidd

Member

Undesirable

"Undesirable" they say.... More Spam is always "undesirable" in my book.

VR Laura
Queen Of Cyberspace
Premium Member
join:2002-02-10
NYC

VR Laura

Premium Member

Hostile takeovers

Hostile takeovers are just wrong.

I'm glad Microsoft backed off.
stevephl
join:2000-11-27
Colorado Springs, CO

stevephl

Member

Yahoo in the dumps

Yahoo is on the skids, watch over the next couple of years if Yahoo isn't acquired by Microsoft or a similar company Yahoo will be history.

TwoCpus4me
join:2003-10-16

1 recommendation

TwoCpus4me

Member

Re: Yahoo in the dumps

They just got offered 4,700 million dollars for a room full of computers and a bunch of mostly-replaceable IT staff.

They should have taken the offer to the bank, but the arrogance of playing traditional capitalism chess with the employee's futures was too fun for Yang.

They will absolutely regret this move and will likely never see an offer half as good, if they don't implode first.
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4

Member

Re: Yahoo in the dumps

said by TwoCpus4me:

They just got offered 4,700 million dollars for a room full of computers and a bunch of mostly-replaceable IT staff.
You're missing an obvious asset here, the #1 most viewed website on the internet. Yahoo's main problem with that is monetizing that... but would the folks who brought you MSN really show them the way?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to TwoCpus4me

Premium Member

to TwoCpus4me
Yang sent an email to the troops to rally them. I would be more impressed if he had sent an email where sentences began with capital letters instead of the type of email message that would be sent by some of the current crop of illiterate teenagers. Maybe he thinks he is e.e.cummings reincarnated instead of the CEO of a major corporation.

Here is the email he sent:
»www.news.com/8301-10784_ ··· 1_3-0-20
From: jerry yang
To: [Yahoo Employees]
Sent: Sat May 03 19:26 2008
Subject: today's news

yahoos,

today microsoft announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire yahoo!. from the beginning of this process, our independent board and leadership team have maintained that microsoft's offer undervalues the company, and we're pleased that many of our shareholders agreed with us. our board and leadership team now remain focused on maximizing shareholder value and pursuing strategic opportunities that position us for success and leadership in our markets.

of course, we anticipate that microsoft's announcement will draw media attention and speculation as to what happens next for yahoo!. that means the spotlight will be on us - just as it has been for the past three months. i'm incredibly proud of how we've performed under such scrutiny, with last quarter's great financial results as a testament to everyone's hard work and focus. just as we did last quarter, now is the time for us to shine and show what we're made of.

with the distraction of microsoft's unsolicited proposal behind us, we must redouble our efforts. we should focus our energies on continuing to execute the most important transition in our history. how will we do this? by executing against the strategies and priorities we already have in place, and by continuing to deliver indispensable experiences for our communities of users, advertisers, publishers and developers.

in the end, it all comes back to who we are as a company. we have a spirit and a culture that is uniquely yahoo! - and we can't forget that. staying true to who we are has helped us pull through the recent uncertainty we've faced, and will continue to be an asset as we move ahead. there's a reason why we're the only fortune 500 company with an exclamation point at the end of our name, and now is the time to demonstrate what that exclamation point stands for.

over the next several weeks, sue and i plan to visit as many offices as we can to thank you in-person for everything you've done and continue to do for yahoo!. we hope you're as excited as we are about the future that lies ahead for all of us -- together as one yahoo!.

jerry
C DM
join:2002-12-31

C DM to TwoCpus4me

Member

to TwoCpus4me
"mostly-replaceable IT staff"? I guess empty rhetoric often beats facts and and reality when it comes to moot discussions.
milkman82
join:2006-06-19
Cleveland, OH

milkman82

Member

Maybe I am missing something.

Crazy yahoo people, like Mr. wong told me. "Always take offa oorrr die by dragon fire!.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Why Turn Down Free Money?

What was Yahoo thinking? Microsoft was offering them what, $44 billion more than what the company was worth! Considering that Yahoo is about as irrelevant to the Internet now as Infoseek, Go, Excite, and just about every other dot-com that has come and gone, they should have jumped on this deal!

I hope the shareholders of Yahoo hold the executives accountable for this mistake. Take away their golden parachutes (which the executives must have, because that's the only explanation for this boneheaded idiocy).

firephoto
Truth and reality matters
Premium Member
join:2003-03-18
Brewster, WA

firephoto

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

Yes, how dare they try to protect their employees future and piss off a few investors that don't give a crap about what the company does other than make them vacation time.

This is the whole problem with our current mindset on publicly traded companies. Many won't think twice if the company doesn't exist tomorrow and their own money is in the next great thing.

Microsoft getting control of Yahoo essentially dooms all the Yahoo employees that actually make Yahoo what it is and leaves it with something Joe Nascar thinks is cooler for a week before something else shiny catches their attention.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

Hate to tell you but employees don't matter. Shareholders do. The job of Yahoo is to enrich its shareholders.

As for innovation, what exactly has Yahoo innovated recently? They're going nowhere. Enriching the shareholders with free money from Microsoft would have been the right thing to do.
C DM
join:2002-12-31

C DM

Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

Without Yahoo! and other .coms where would companies like Google be? It took those other companies to come up with tons of services that are used by most people online so that other companies can come in later an improve on them.
Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO

Lazlow to pnh102

Member

to pnh102
I would just say that they(yahoo) had morals. Sometimes doing the "right thing" is more important than money. Something that I think the world has forgotten. For at least the last ten years (not always) M$ has proven itself to be harmful and amoral. It would appear that even Gates has seen this with his attempt at making amends(his foundation). I am all for companies making a profit, but there has to be "some" limits on how far one can go.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

said by Lazlow:

I would just say that they(yahoo) had morals.
What morals? Yahoo is going nowhere. The only moral thing for the company to do would be to enrich its shareholders.
Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO

Lazlow

Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

pnh102

I disagree. If there is a monster in a cage and you unlock the door to the cage, you are responsible for what the monster does. Yahoo choosing not to sell to M$ is keeping the monster in its cage. I have little doubt that it will cost the share holders money. But it is still the right thing to do.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

1 recommendation

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

said by Lazlow:

If there is a monster in a cage and you unlock the door to the cage, you are responsible for what the monster does.
I'd agree but there are no monsters here.

Yahoo is a dead company. If they went out of business tomorrow, no one would care. Microsoft was doing them a favor by offering to buy them out.

BabyBear
Keep wise ...with Nite-Owl
join:2007-01-11

BabyBear to Lazlow

Member

to Lazlow
said by Lazlow:

M$ has proven itself to be harmful and amoral.
Yeah, just look at Vista! *rimshot*

Couldn't help myself, I apologize. Vista is Microsoft's Daiktana.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 recommendation

tshirt to Lazlow

Premium Member

to Lazlow
said by Lazlow:

I would just say that they(yahoo) had morals...........
So, At $44B it's moral to hold out, but if you can hold out for $50B it's moral to sell out?
sounds totally profit driven, without thought to the employees future
said by Lazlow:

For at least the last ten years (not always) M$ has proven itself to be harmful and amoral. ...........
Seems to be a popular spin, but some of us see it as working hard to drive an industry, make money for investors, provide 77,000 employees (and hundreds of thousands of other people) good paying jobs.
said by Lazlow:

It would appear that even Gates has seen this with his attempt at making amends(his foundation).
Bill Gates in no way feels guilty about his success, he work hard to get there and now chooses to spend his fortune trying to make the world a better place.
said by Lazlow:

I am all for companies making a profit, but there has to be "some" limits on how far one can go.
So no limits on those are unable to master their market, but cap those who have continuously made and sold what the vast majority of people will buy?
Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO

Lazlow

Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

I would make a pretty fair bet that they new M$ would not go that high.

The question is how many jobs did M$ destroy with it's predatory behavior and how much has this stifled innovation?

Looks like guilt to me. Whatever the motive, I think he is doing good.

How things are accomplished may be more important than what is accomplished. If I give the worlds smartest man a heart transplant and it saves his life, that would be great. Now what if I had to murder someone to get the heart? Would it still be so great?

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

said by Lazlow:

How things are accomplished may be more important than what is accomplished. If I give the worlds smartest man a heart transplant and it saves his life, that would be great. Now what if I had to murder someone to get the heart? Would it still be so great?
I don't think Bill, or anyone at MS killed anyone in order to improve sales.
Yes, they play hardball pushing every limit, and some ideas have been quashed/absorbed/ignored in the process, it happens everyday in every business, it just was more noticeable with MS because they are such a dominate company in the fastest growing industry ever.
jerry Yang has the same obligation at Yahoo as Gates had at MS to grow the value of the company. If (due to his own personal dislike with gates/MS) chooses to take the poison pill rather than sell to the highest bidder, he is violating his legally binding fiduciary responsibility to his/ Yahoo's shareholders.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

said by tshirt:

I don't think Bill, or anyone at MS killed anyone in order to improve sales.
Funny you mention killing.

Didn't Yahoo rat out a blogger in China to the Chinese government?

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Why Turn Down Free Money?

At least one that we know of

When this end of deal story broke here in Seattle, I read it as Steve Ballmer getting smarter, breaking away from his role as chief salesman (in this case buyer) and becoming a better CEO.
When a seller (yes Yahoo wants/needs to sell or partner with somebody quickly) is too demanding in their terms, a smart buyer will politely decline and walk away, even if it's something they really, really want.
Yahoo might have some value.
But imagine what MS could do with a $50b invstment in that market.......Would Yahoo (particularly a gutted Yahoo really add more than that? Probably not ,a full buy out would deny other players those assets and get MS rolling imediately (provided the culture clash was not too great)
people forget how big a monster Google has become and how quickly they are leveraging into other related and unrelated businesses.
Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO

Lazlow to tshirt

Member

to tshirt
"to grow the value of the company."

The above line is key. Today value has become equivalent to money, but in truth value is far more than just money.

Yes, M$ is pointed to as an example of when things have gone too far and I am sure that there are many other companies one could point to. Because M$ has gone to the very edge (and over) so many times is exactly why everyone points to them as an example. They have made huge amounts of money and they did "standardize" an industry. But, somewhere along the line they forgot to stop. Sugar tastes really good but if you try to live on just sugar, you are going to get sick. I think that M$ passed the stage where it helps and has been a harm for a number of years.

If M$ is doing them a favor why are they turning them down? M$'s favors have always been to M$ advantage.
vic102482
Premium Member
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD

1 edit

vic102482 to tshirt

Premium Member

to tshirt
said by tshirt:
said by Lazlow:

I would just say that they(yahoo) had morals...........
So, At $44B it's moral to hold out, but if you can hold out for $50B it's moral to sell out?
sounds totally profit driven, without thought to the employees future
said by Lazlow:

For at least the last ten years (not always) M$ has proven itself to be harmful and amoral. ...........
Seems to be a popular spin, but some of us see it as working hard to drive an industry, make money for investors, provide 77,000 employees (and hundreds of thousands of other people) good paying jobs.
said by Lazlow:

It would appear that even Gates has seen this with his attempt at making amends(his foundation).
Bill Gates in no way feels guilty about his success, he work hard to get there and now chooses to spend his fortune trying to make the world a better place.
said by Lazlow:

I am all for companies making a profit, but there has to be "some" limits on how far one can go.
So no limits on those are unable to master their market, but cap those who have continuously made and sold what the vast majority of people will buy?
Dude, isnt it sad? So Bill Gates makes to much money, but anyone on this forum would trade places with him in a nano second. Hate the 500 pound gorilla is the recurring theme here, and it is pointless.

The CEO subscribes to this thought process, and as a result he will suffer the wrath of his own shareholders. Yahoo is a dead company, some say MSFT was the sucker here, how many people pay 70% premium for worthless goods? Sounds like an ebay auction with a sniper, except Yahoo isnt even worth the transaction fees .
itnetpro
join:2001-10-28
Downingtown, PA

itnetpro to Lazlow

Member

to Lazlow
Wait a minute here??? Yahoo has Morals? From my perspective it was Yahoo who was shaking Microsoft down because they figured that Microsoft had such deep pockets it would over pay for Yahoo. Don't think for one minute that Yahoo would not have sold out everything if Microsoft increased their bid. I am also amazed when I see a statement accusing Bill Gates of guilt for giving away billions of dollars of his own money. I seriously doubt that he harbors any personal feelings of guilt over anything Microsoft has done and for that matter any other American company would have also done in Microsoft’s shoes to prosper. It's called Capitalism. As for Yahoo's future, I feel it was foolish not to take Microsoft's offer. Even with MSN and Yahoo merging, Microsoft still would have taken a distant 2nd place to Google. Just like Zune vs IPod, 360 vs PS3 vs Wii in the end Microsoft will not dominate this industry just like they don't any other then PC operating systems.

By the way, did you know that Bill Gates gave so much money away he is no longer the richest man in the world? That title is now owned by a Mexican Telco mogal. Kind of strange that the richest man in the world comes from such a dirt poor country like Mexico. Oh but wait! Bill Gates is the most Evil man in the world!!! I am no big Microsoft OS fan but I get tired day in and out how people go around spewing garbage about Evil Bill gates. I personaly think Microsoft is a great American company...
centsofhumor
join:2007-01-20
Two Rivers, WI

centsofhumor

Member

I will dump yahoo if they get bought out.

Your big enough already m$...We dont need a world of comcrap and micro$haft.

R4M0N
Brazilian Soccer Ownz Joo
join:2000-10-04
Glen Allen, VA

R4M0N

Member

Yahoo shareholders! Here's lots more cash than you're worth!

...SIKE!

-Microsoft
58483323 (banned)
Gurt me
join:2003-06-23
Normal, IL

58483323 (banned)

Member

Re: Yahoo shareholders! Here's lots more cash than you're worth!

More like Yahoo for being dumb and not taking the cash.
RX300
join:2004-02-23
Bluff Dale, TX

RX300

Member

Headline - YHOO Drops 50%

Finincial headline tomorrow.
C DM
join:2002-12-31

C DM

Member

Re: Headline - YHOO Drops 50%

said by RX300:

Finincial headline tomorrow.
As most predictions in many cases, this one didn't get far.
vincar
join:2005-07-28
Emerson, NJ

vincar

Member

I still don't get it?

Maybe it is me and someone wiser could fill me in.

I don't understand why people keep comparing MS and Google?
Microsoft is a software company and Google is an on-line media advertising service. Albeit in the technology field, but they still sell media.
Google doesn't make a dime selling any type of software, so how are they threatening MS.
MS on-line media revenue accounts for about 1/60 of their total revenue which adds up to about 870 million.
Yes MS would like to grown in this area, seeing how well Google is doing there. But MS's financial are about as good as it gets. The company grows and rates that are the envy of any company and amazing for a company this large.

To me comparing MS and Google is like saying MS and Logitech are competitors. Yes MS sells some mouses and keyboard with the MS logo on it but it is mostly for building the Microsoft brand.

As impressed as I am with Google, they have not been able to break into any other areas of revenue generating technology sectors, or have they?

One thing I do know, if Yahoo or anyone else was waiting for another company like News corp, Time Warner or even Google if there were no anti-trust issues to come along and compete with Microsoft to acquire Yahoo. They were just kidding themselves. No one came along because, no one wanted to get in a fight with MS. Not that anyone would have been able too. In the acquisitions world, cash is king and no one in the technology sector can compete with MS there. MS is now generating about 1.4 to 1.5 billion in net income a month, with little to no debt and a stock pile of cash, it was a losing battle for anyone.

TwoCpus4me
join:2003-10-16

TwoCpus4me

Member

Yahoo CEO Faces Rebellion

Like I said, the implosion is beginning, already. This will be the biggest cluster short of the AOL/Time Warner merger.

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24455856/

••••••
Sunburn
join:2000-10-05
Denver, CO

4 edits

Sunburn

Member

Foolishness

Yang is a Skywalker wannabe. It is easy enough to look at the 10k ( »www.sec.gov/Archives/edg ··· 10vk.htm ), break it down to core business, do the cash flow analysis, and see exactly what that foolish company is worth. Too bad they couldn't talk more. It was like selling Copper for Gold. Frkin idiots need to go back to finance 101 and study the TVM. Capitalization is a bunch of foolish hype, reserved for the real suxor'z and the momentum traders clamped on their back side...pumpin em like some 89' ReeBok's.