After more than four months of Sturm und Drang, the blockbuster Internet deal of the year is over, with only one clear winner: Google. On June 12, Microsoft and Yahoo said they ended talks that focused on, at turns, an outright takeover by the software giant to a combination of the companies’ Web-search operations. Within hours, Google swooped in with a long-discussed alternative deal that involves placing search ads on Yahoo pages.Despite hints before the market closed that a Google deal might finally come to pass, the sudden end of chances for a more sweeping Microsoft transaction left Yahoo investors fleeing for the exits. The company’s stock fell 10%, to 23.52. That’s still considerably above the 19.18 where Yahoo’s shares sat just before Microsoft made its original $45 billion bid on Feb. 1, but far below the $33 a share Microsoft offered before bowing out.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080612_745212.htm
Google’s Yahoo Rebound Play
With Microsoft out of the picture, Web search king Google strikes a search ad deal with Yahoo. But where does that leave the struggling portal?